As one of the two keynote addresses at this year’s Sixth Form Online Careers Day, recruitment specialist and Old Pangbournian, James Austen (1993-1998), gave Sixth Form pupils an introduction to the world of recruitment. As part of his presentation, James talked about applying for graduate programmes and what to expect along the way.

Recruitment, specifically early talent recruitment, has changed dramatically over the last 10-15 years. With increased competition and huge advances in technological capabilities, the recruitment process can appear daunting. James walked through the various stages of online application form, video interviewing, psychometric testing and the various forms of assessment centres. Typical timescales and timelines were then shared to help inform what to expect at university and what can be done to help get ahead of the game.

In order to help the Sixth Form students to be well equipped for the interview process, James Austen described a product created by ‘Shortlister’ which has been adopted and licensed by Pangbourne College this year. It enables them to practise and improve their presentation skills as well as interview responses.

Shortlist.Me is a specialist interview readiness platform that has been designed and built to help enable school leavers and under-graduates prepare for the various stages within early years recruitment. Simulating the typical competencies and questions that a hiring organisation would ask, the platform allows candidates unlimited access to hundreds of different practice interviews, allowing them to not only record their responses but then analyse and through the use of various diagnostics and A.I., receive personalised and detailed feedback.

Mr Andrew Sumner, Head of Careers and Enterprise, said: ‘Whilst the video interview practice might seem daunting at first, I believe that Shortlist.Me will be a game changer for our students in giving them the experience they need to enable them to be well prepared for this part of the employment application process.’