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Ah student life, you lazy, sexy, poorly planned beast of thing. Part of the beauty of the uni experience is that its time limited. The glory days of Sogos and nights at the Monkey Bar will all eventually come to an end, and you will take on that oh-so-sought-after mantle of graduate. You may be there right now, gearing up for your last ever set of university exams. Or maybe you’re a fresh faced, STI-ravaged first year, thinking your days of puffer jackets and two-minute noodles will never end. Regardless, it’s time to start thinking about life after uni. Critic’s Joe Stockman looks into the process of morphing from student to real person.

The Good Life
Oh to be a real person! To be a graduate! Yes, that is what I truly yearn to be. Graduates have money; they have suits and cars, expense accounts and Friday night drinks; they have weekends free from part-time jobs and group assignments. Surely, graduate life is the life for me! But how on earth do you turn three years of barely passed papers and weekday hangovers into an actual job?
 
Basically, you need to think of your university education as a commodity. Most of us are borrowing cheap monies from the government to buy ourselves a lovely piece of paper from Otago Uni that says we’re really, really, smart and stuff. And with that magical bit of paper, employers will flock to our doors and beg us to come and work for them, right? Well, no. The bit of paper is an important investment, but you’re going to need a whole lot more than that.
 
Foot in Door, not Foot in Mouth
Jackie Dean and Robyn Bridges work at the Career Development Centre, the Uni’s answer to helping you turn that degree into a saleable commodity. And they say you need transferable skills. “Everything you do in life can help you develop transferable skills; you want to build a backpack of transferable skills that go with your degree, and that you can sell to a future employer”, say Jackie and Robyn, “And  there isn’t anything that you could do that isn’t a type of transferable skill.”
 
So what are transferable skills? They are your selling points to employers. The little things that make you stand out from the crowd and get you the job: things like communication skills, working with budgets, having clear and concise writing, basic Microsoft Office skills; anything that isn’t your degree, that makes you a more desirable employee. And of course, there is that that bugbear of all grads looking for a job: experience.
 
Experience wanted, needed, preferred or necessary is the nail in the confidence of many a job-seeking graduate. How the hell are you supposed to have relevant experience when you’ve only just entered the job market? The answer is that you get experience in the same place that you pick up most of your transferable skills: part time jobs, volunteering in the community, going on student exchange, leading a club or society, or the increasingly common option of a summer internship. The trick is that once you’ve got these experiences, you have to sell them as relevant to the employer. Done a bit of travel? You have experience interacting with different cultures. Managed the flat bank account? You’re experienced managing a budget. Worked a summer job as a retail assistant? You have relevant industry experience. Get it?
 
Do anything that you can to make yourself stand out from the crowd: pick up a minor in finance; pick up a second language; do Hons; get a Master’s degree even. You should keep adding to your skill sets and experiences, but only to the point where it doesn’t mess with your grades; grades still come first. And if your grades aren’t that shit hot, it’s not too late. Employers will be happy seeing that your grades got better over your time at uni.
 
The Process
So you’ve been accepted for an interview, congrats! But you ain’t done yet; the C.V process is really just about weeding out the truly unsuitable applicants. The interview is where you really start to sell yourself. So let’s lay down some really basic ground rules.
•    Wear a suit: If you’re a girl, then dress ‘corporate’. Don’t worry if the interviewer is wearing a polo, they’ve already got a job. You need to fit the dress code of the company. Obviously, if you’re working in construction, a suit won’t be required, but for most grad positions, it’s a must.
•    Do some research: You should know not just about the company that you are applying for, but about the relevant industry or field as well. Few grads are going to walk into their dream job; many will be working in an industry that they originally know very little about. Bone up, or look like an idiot.
•    Be polite: To everyone, every single time you interact with anyone, in anyway related to the interview. From the person at the front desk to your fellow applicants, manners are a must. The interviewer isn’t just rating your employability; they are probably going to have to work with you too. They want to know that you’re not a total tool, and that you can work well with others.
•    Ask questions: your interviewer is going to ask you if you have any questions, and if you want to stand out, you should have some good ones prepared. Ask about how they promote in their company; ask about their environmental policies; ask about the state of the industry in general; BUT, don’t ask about money.
 
Getting Paid
Some people get away with asking about the remuneration package in the first interview, and of course if the interviewers bring it up, then you’re free to talk about it. But as a general rule, if you’re not sure, don’t ask about money until you get a job offer. And remember, an offer is just an offer. Employers will understand that you are applying for a number of different jobs, and that theirs may not be your number one choice. The most important thing is to be transparent and honest. Tell them your situation; they will usually be fine with it. And if they do start pushing you to choose, ask yourself “do you really want to be working for these people?”
 
Many employers will ask what you think you’re worth salary wise; a dastardly little fucker of a question really. But feel free to throw it back at them. Ask what the industry average is, and then put forward a sum. Don’t feel pressured into making a stupid amount up, way too low, or far too high, and then thinking you’re stuck with your initial offer. As a ballpark, most grads will be pulling down $40k in their first year. Some of the law grads amongst you will be in the $50-60k range, as will the exceptional finance grads. Geologists have got it made, pulling in over $100k in Australia, but the lifestyle may leave a little to be desired.
 
And remember, it’s not all about money. In fact, your initial salary is probably the least of your worries if you are working for a large company. What you really want to know about is your potential salary at the end of your first year, and how the company manages professional development. You might think that your training and learning days are over once you leave uni, but nowadays, your training will continue till the day you retire. If the company doesn’t have a robust training programme, or a serious intent to train you up and promote you through the company, you may want to keep looking.
 
If you’re really hot shit, then you may even get companies throwing signing bonuses your way: clothing allowances; relocation costs; gym memberships and health care programmes are all some of the non-salary perks you can look for.
 
Be gentle: it’s my first time
Possibly the most important thing to remember is this: it’s only your first job! Maybe it’s not the dream job you always wanted, or maybe it is. Regardless, you will change position, company, industry, and often direction all together in the forty odd years ahead of you in the rat race. This first job is just a start. From here you get to build the career that you really want. Employers understand that you will want to move around. They expect young people to want head off overseas and get more experience; if you’re good, you may even have a job waiting for you when you get back. Don’t be afraid of accepting something short of the dream. Within a few short years you will have that coveted mantle of ‘experienced’ that employers so desperately look for. Not only that, but you’ll have a better idea of what the dream actually looks like.
 
So good luck. Study hard; and go in and see Jackie, Robyn and the team at the Careers Development Centre. But most importantly, go grab a goon, and skip Friday afternoon while you still can.