grad jobs for commerce

[bully3000]

how hard is it to get a grad job while completing final year of a bachelor of commerce degree?

do many people end up doing more study coz they can't find employment?

what's the atarnotes doom/gloom forecast?

[Fyrefly]

If your grades are decent, you've got good extracurriculars, and your personality is one that will win you points in an interview, then I don't see why you wouldn't get a job. Not everyone can afford to be picky and choosey though, and it's essential to be proactive.

[bully3000]

If your grades are decent, you've got good extracurriculars, and your personality is one that will win you points in an interview, then I don't see why you wouldn't get a job. Not everyone can afford to be picky and choosey though, and it's essential to be proactive.

By extra-curriculars do you just mean hobbies Im involved in?
how involve in the extracurricular would i need to be to mention it in a resume?

also, how important is it to have work experience before completing ur degree before applying for your first professional grad job?

[Billion]

Does commerce involve a lot of maths and economics? Would you be at a disadvantage by not doing economics at your school?

[Fyrefly]

You definitely need work experience. I don't want to go so far as to say it needs to be relevant work experience, but no-one's going to want to hire you if you have no work experience whatsoever when you're already 20-something-years-old.

When I think of extracurriculars, I think of structured hobbies. As in... some sort of structured activity or activities you do outside of class. University clubs, volunteer work or sporting commitments are all good examples.

[bully3000]

how competitive are internships? generally when should you apply for them?
do many people graduate from commerce without having done some sort of internship?

also, does ur uni help you out a lot when looking for internships (e.g. with the contacts/networking)?

Does commerce involve a lot of maths and economics? Would you be at a disadvantage by not doing economics at your school?

what do you mean? i dont understand what ur saying...are you saying that if I don't try to find jobs I won't find employment after my degree?

[mark_alec]

He is asking if it matters whether you do economics at highschool or not. As others have said, first year economics subjects at university do not presume any prior knowledge.

[Fyrefly]

how competitive are internships? generally when should you apply for them?

There is less competition for internships than graduate jobs, but the competition is definitely still quite fierce.
Each company has different application dates.
As a general rule of thumb, the accounting firms start recruitment in Feb/Mar, while the banks start recruitment Jun/Jul.

A good website to monitor is called GradConnection, which you can filter to search for internships in your industries of interest. I signed up, set my preferences, and received emails reminding me of impending application closing dates.

Many companies have what is called 'rolling recruitment', where they have a very long application period and during this period will interview and hire continuously until all positions are filled. This is in contrast to companies who will only interview and hire once applications are closed. My general advice for ALL companies (but especially for rolling recruitment companies) is to apply as soon as possible. The earlier you get your application in, the better your chances.

Many companies prefer only penultimate (read: final year) students. Some companies (eg. PwC) have programs aimed at students other than those in their penultimate year.

do many people graduate from commerce without having done some sort of internship?

I think quite a few students will have finished university without having done an internship, but I feel these students are at a distinct disadvantage. Most companies who have an intern program will hire students out of that program before they go externally and hire normal graduates. Internships get your foot in the door, and put you in front of everyone else waiting in line for a grad job at that company.

also, does ur uni help you out a lot when looking for internships (e.g. with the contacts/networking)?

My university had a careers fair that I attended for networking purposes, as well as information sessions for companies like KPMG that I attended. BCSS (Monash University Business and Commerce Students Society) also hosted a corporate cocktails event that I attended. Aside from that, most of my job hunting efforts were external to my university. I attended a large career festival at Crown called The Big Meet, spent a lot of time searching on the internet, attended information sessions at individual companies, filled out dozens of application forms and online testing, and attended a large number of interviews (that I all researched and prepared for prior to attending).

Applications are very time-consuming and often ask for rather long answers about your achievements and values, and about occasions on which you've demonstrated particular personality traits. For me, I used a spreadsheet with things like company names, application closing dates and application progress to manage my applications so I didn't miss any deadlines. Expect a single application to take several hours.