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So you鈥檙e interested in the world of investment banking and want to know how to get ahead of the game? How do you get your 鈥渇oot in the door鈥� of this competitive and high profile industry?

Although it鈥檚 impossible to quantify how many of the estimated 50-80% unadvertised jobs are at 鈥榞raduate level鈥� there is no doubt that you should tap into this market if you want to increase your chance of job search success. Don鈥檛 artificially restrict your horizons by focussing on the graduate portals, fairs or company websites alone. There are a wealth of opportunities out there and a good speculative application can help you unlock the door to this seemingly hidden job market.

Group discussions are a really common assessment exercise as they allow the recruiter to see how you interact with others and work as part of a team – essential skills in pretty much any job. You are not in direct competition with your fellow candidates, so aim for a collaborative, not competitive, approach in group discussions.

Successful people don鈥檛 sidestep failure; they accommodate it, cope with it and move on. Resilience, not resignation, is the key to career success.

Whether you are completing an application form or preparing for an interview, the STAR approach can help you structure your answers and focus on the evidence. It鈥檚 a good way to optimise your responses and use the space or time available to persuade the employer you have what it takes.

Tell me about yourself? It seems such an innocuous question, designed to break the ice and put you at ease before the real interview starts. Well don鈥檛 be fooled! This question has the potential to win or lose the day, so don鈥檛 sleepwalk into disaster by taking the wrong approach. Plan your strategy beforehand鈥�.

Graduate schemes represent an important sector of the graduate job market, but SMEs offer exciting opportunities too. If you鈥檙e a savvy student you鈥檒l consider both options and give yourself the best chance of securing a challenging role post-graduation.

Networking. It鈥檚 become synonymous with a successful job search. And it can be incredibly powerful – if you do it right. There鈥檚 more to networking than firing off LinkedIn requests and milling around careers fairs. I don鈥檛 think many people are natural, accomplished networkers – it takes time and practice.

Grad schemes have much to recommend them and can be a great way to start your professional career. They鈥檙e just not the only way. Increasingly students and grads are starting to tap into the SME sector, finding exciting jobs and challenging projects in the process.

At a recent event for a large investment bank, the MD speaking to the audience announced 鈥渁 CV always tells a story 鈥� and you鈥檇 better be able to tell that story鈥�. In saying so, he got to the crux of the difference between a good candidate – who is able to provide a collection of facts about what they have done – and a great candidate – who鈥檚 able to say 鈥榯his is my story鈥� and then use narrative to help make sense of who they are.

LinkedIn can be used in many different ways, from being your professional profile to show the world you are worth employing, to contacting people who might give you good information about roles you are applying for, connecting with employers or people who might help you on your career path right through to actually being head-hunted.

Got an interview coming up and feel crippled by nerves? You鈥檙e not alone.

PR disasters aren鈥檛 the sole preserve of big brands and even bigger celebrities. How you are perceived online can have a huge impact on your current – and future – job prospects.

Many people with be familiar with competency-based questions which form the basis of most job interviews. But what about those questions which are designed to look beyond your skills? How do recruiters get the answers to 鈥楧o you want the job?鈥� and 鈥榃ill you fit in?鈥�

We know that aptitude tests can strike fear into the most confident student, but we also know that most of you are likely to encounter them at some stage. It鈥檚 better to face the fear and find out what鈥檚 involved.

When we think of interviews there is a pretty typical scenario we conjure up: office, suits, candidates waiting nervously outside the door. Well, unless you鈥檙e really lucky and manage to find a job without a formal interview (rare but it can happen!) this is probably a scenario you鈥檙e likely to encounter at some stage in your job search. But your very first interview may be altogether different – it may just be on the other end of a phone.

It doesn鈥檛 matter whether you鈥檙e a seasoned pro or completely green, there are some interview questions that just invite dread. There鈥檚 one that really seems to get pulses racing: 鈥渨hat are your weaknesses?鈥�

It鈥檚 hard not to feel discouraged when you鈥檙e hoping for 鈥榶es鈥� but hear 鈥榥o鈥� . Whether you鈥檙e an interview veteran or a relative novice, rejection can be a bruising experience.