Ex-Corporate Recruiter launches Graduate Recruitment Website

Sue Polley, former Recruitment Adviser for ExxonMobil, has recently launched 1stopcareer.com to help meet the needs of graduate recruiters of all sizes and graduates themselves. Having spent 4 years as Recruitment Manager for Esso Serve Europe, Sue got so fed up of incurring the financial and administrative costs of working with recruitment agencies and placing expensive press and online advertisements, coupled with a decline in student on-line applications, that she decided to do something about it.

ëWith increasing numbers of students having to hold down part-time jobs to pay their tuition fees while also concentrating on their course work and exams, they simply donít have the time to spend hours completing endless Employer specific application forms, the majority of which all seek evidence of the same competencies and qualifications, so I decided to create a system where they only complete one form which Employers of all sizes can use as they see fit e.g. as a supplement to their additional processes or as their sole route for identifying and screening candidates,í explained Sue.

Moreover with many Employers, including SMEs and non-traditional graduate recruiters like Shared Service Centres, recruiting graduates of all degree classifications, not just 1sts or 2:1s, and undergraduates looking for projects or placements, all-year round as opposed to one or two intakes a year, I saw an opportunity for Employers to have ongoing access to a candidate pool with whom they can proactively communicate as and when they feel appropriate, without having to necessarily advertise specific vacancies. With only 20% of graduates getting onto major graduate schemes, this leaves a large percentage of graduates and prospective employers who need to exploit all available options of getting in touch with each other.í

ëEmployers registered with 1stopcareer.com pay a one-off fee to directly search our resource pool, by either university or degree subject type, screen the forms online, and then initiate contact with those who meet their initial selection criteria. Students love the concept as itís free and it cuts down the time and effort they need to spend on job searching. We also offer them practical advice on how to best sell themselves and run employability skills sessions on campuses around the UK. Our new partnership with People Maps also provides both parties with access to a comprehensive personality profile of the student too, which gives an insight into the individual which CVs just donít do.í

ëItís a great concept,í echoed Jo Williams, former European Marketing Director for Novonordisk. ëItís so simple and is really cost effective. The competency-based form also provides a lot more information than a CV and is a great way of screening candidates and ëwindow shoppingí without having to make any firm commitments.í