There is no getting around the fact that recent business graduates face intense competition in today’s job market.

Although the business world is in a strong job market with more than 10 million work opportunities available, it’s incredibly challenging for business graduates to get their first job.

If you are a recent graduate with a business degree, you have probably noticed that roles posted as entry-level require three or more years of relevant work experience.

According to popular job searches and networking platform LinkedIn, 35% of job listings for entry-level positions require three or more years of relevant experience.

Moreover, mastery of innovative technologies and software and specific licenses and certifications are also requested.

This renders your bachelor’s degree useless. After all, how can you get experience if no employer gives you a chance to gain experience in the first place?

Keep reading to find ways to improve your employability and stand out from the crowd as the job industry becomes increasingly competitive.

Seek volunteering opportunities

Competition between graduates entering the workforce is challenging. Graduates must work twice as hard to get noticed by recruiters and prospective employers.

As a recent business graduate, you need all the advantages you can get. So, how do you stand out and gain that edge?

Enter volunteering. By volunteering, you can gain essential transferable skills and draw on your experiences during job interviews.

While you can benefit from an opportunity that lets you establish vital soft skills such as problem-solving and leadership, a volunteering opportunity can be an advantage.

Perhaps you can spend your time volunteering in a small business to learn about everything to do with the operations.

Even if the operations are smaller, the challenges are somewhat similar. What’s even more convenient for a business graduate is that it’s all out there in a nutshell in a small business environment.

This allows for digestible and essential lessons in almost every component of the same work environment.

Also, the fast-paced environment and constant demand for quick solutions are certain to further fuel a newly formed business mind.

Improve your CV 

Sometimes, improving employability can be as easy as giving your resume a polish.

In reality, most job applicants searching for a business position send similar CVs to almost every employer.

At first glance, this can make sense. After all, you are applying for a similar position in every company.

Like it or not, hiring managers sort through hundreds of resumes for a single job. This means that they often scan to find the most relevant details. However, this can spell disaster, especially for a recent business graduate.

You need to tailor your resume to the employer’s job description by using keywords and specific phrases to get noticed.

When an employer posts a job opening, they usually include a list of roles and responsibilities they require from an applicant.

You have to take those education qualifications and add the same language or keywords throughout your resume to show that you can fulfill the role.

Usually, hiring managers are most concerned about how well you fit the job requirements when looking at your resume.

By focusing on your most relevant skills and experiences, you demonstrate a proven ability to perform similar responsibilities.

Moreover, it also gives the hiring manager a comprehensive idea of how you can support their business goals.

Focusing on your most applicable skills and relevant accomplishments lets them know that you are considering their needs and not just what the job can do for you.

You may also want to include measurable results on your resume to further prove yourself as a qualified candidate. For example, if you are a business graduate, adding the following can give your resume a needed facelift:

  • Developed a business marketing campaign that increased monthly sales by 25%
  • Reduced business spending by 10% while improving overall revenue

Like it or not, most HR managers are more interested in seeing quantifiable results on your resume rather than a sentence such as ‘ensured accurate inventory and organized successful marketing campaigns, because they do not get details of how significant an impact iou made.

Take an advanced course.

Embarking on a DBA online degree at Aston University is another way to improve graduate employability.

Many holders of a DBA qualification are equipped with the necessary skills and leadership qualities to succeed.

Usually, a DBA program combines a discussion of comprehensive management theories and practices with training in the techniques and methodologies needed to lead organizations and businesses.

Most employers are far more likely to pick a DBA graduate over a bachelor’s graduate to fill a leadership position.

Earning a DBA certificate can increase the likelihood of quickly reaching your personal and professional goals while helping you feel more in control of your career.

So, what does a DBA degree online program look like? Depending on your chosen academic institution, a DBA degree can be completed in four to six years.

More often than not, it concentrates on helping you build the skills to create and deliver research that generates an impact, improves your ability to solve complex issues, and forms comprehensive analysis into in-depth topics.

The coursework will always differ depending on your chosen university, but among the research modules, you will most likely encounter the following:

  • Introduction to business and management research: this module will help you understand the process of management and business research and develop the required skills to perform a literature review.
  • Applied research methods: in this module, you will learn about the connection of research methodology, theory, and philosophy so that you can apply them to business and management research.
  • Qualitative and quantitative research methods: this will give you a comprehensive overview of the theoretical principles and approaches to qualitative and quantitative research.
  • Professional development and research impact: this module will enable you to establish an appreciation for impact-related research to educate the operations and decision-making within the business while emphasizing your future professional development.

Improving employability in today’s job marketplace

Training and education show potential employers that you take your professional life seriously. Work towards your dream job by enrolling for a DBA today.