Over the past month we have had some fantastic articles, covering many different aspects of this month's leadership theme. We have seen some genuinely honest, thought-provoking and, at points, inspiring articles. So as we come to the end of our leadership focus, we are taking this opportunity to look back over the past month’s articles and discover the secret to success when it comes to leadership...
Find your own way:
Our first article this month was truly thought-provoking and contained some great advice on improving your own leadership style (http://www.graduateblog.co.uk/post/2013/04/02/Leadership-from-a-Graduate-Point-of-View.aspx#continue). Dan offered three key ways to build your leadership effectiveness. Firstly, don’t be afraid to actively seek out positions of responsibility and opportunities to develop your leadership ability. Jess, a Retail Management Trainee, also stressed the importance of taking every possible opportunity to lead, developing your own leadership style and ‘becoming the best leader you can be’ (http://www.graduateblog.co.uk/post/2013/04/29/John-F-Kennedy-Martin-Luther-King-Richard-Branson-You.aspx#continue). More...
Employability is a truly global concept. Job markets are no longer restrained to one country; they are now global. Therefore, businesses now have the opportunity to attract the best talent from around the world. It is important to remember that we can learn a huge amount from how different countries view employability and indeed what these countries view as the best ways to make yourself more employable.
To help achieve this, the Graduate Blog has asked Susan to give us her views on employability from a Chinese perspective. Susan works within Global Banking and Markets for HSBC China, and has been with the bank for just over 3 years. For Susan, the key to making yourself more employable is all about ensuring you have got the right experience to get the job. If you want to make yourself more employable then you need to think: experience, experience, experience.
When I was asked to think of what advice I would like to share with you regarding improving your employability, I immediately thought of one thing: experience. For me there is simply no better way to make yourself more attractive to potential employers then by gaining useful experience. The easiest way to prove to an employer all the skills and talents that you hold is to show them that you have used these skills and talents to great benefit in a previous role. If you can show that you've been able to function effectively in a relevant previous role, then employers will be more confident in your abilities and more willing to offer you the job you want. The key thing to understand is that everyone applying for a job can say that they have the right skills for the job and they can say that their skills will make them successful. But if you have got good previous experience then you can prove that you have got the right skills for the job and you can prove that your skills and experience will make you successful. More...
Employability. It’s a word you are likely to hear on a daily basis during your time at university. But what is employability? What makes us more employable? How can you use your experience and skills to prove to an employer that you have the employability they are looking for?
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Jonathan from the Retail Banking and Wealth Management graduate scheme continues our Employability theme. Jonathan talks about understanding What is employability and How can it be achieved.
What is Employability and How Do I Get it?
When I first started thinking about my career, as I counted down the months to the end of my student days, I used to hear the word ‘employability’ and ask ‘what actually is it?' I knew it was something desirable; something I wanted to achieve; but how to go about becoming employable - I wasn’t entirely sure! Here’s a short insight into why it’s so important to improve your employability and my personal reflections on how to achieve this. More...
The Transition From Graduate Programme to First Appointment
By Pascal, Analyst in Wholesale Credit and Market Risk, Former Executive Management Trainee
The Executive Management Trainee (‘ET’) graduate programme is a generalist introduction to multiple areas of business within HSBC’s UK subsidiary, with the opportunity to travel abroad or fulfil functions in the parent holding company. It’s 23 months since I joined HSBC Bank plc as an Executive Management Trainee, and three months since I graduated from the programme and into my first appointment. I contributed to a lot of areas of the graduate community – including this graduate blog – during my time on the graduate programme. More...
Since joining the Operational Leadership scheme in September it is clear there is a lot of value in seeking out and embracing opportunities within the bank, something I have expressed elsewhere on the grad blog; in this blog though I want to share 3 challenges new graduates face and how we can make the most of them. This will hopefully provide some useful insight and a flavour of grad life at HSBC!More...
If you are filling out your very first application to a graduate programme you are probably going to have it rejected. You may believe that you are perfect for the advertised role and hence you might have pored over your responses to the questions for hours trying to get the responses just right. But you will still probably face rejection.
Rest assured that this is no reflection on your ability to function in a business environment or your qualifications. It is simply the case that the majority of candidates will fall at several hurdles before receiving that all important offer letter. More...
Brad tells us about his experience on the 4 week GGDP (Group Graduate Development Programme) and updates us on his Premier Onboarding placement.
Waiting for an important phone call is perhaps one of the most agonising things in life. And that wait was no different.
It was on a cold, but otherwise nondescript day in March 2010 that I found myself encountering the nerve-wracking and seemingly endless wait for a phone call.
From HSBC recruitment.More...