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CURRENT TENDENCIES OF RECRUITMENT AND HIRING OF YOUNG GRADUATES After the economic slump of the early 90�s, and specially since 1996, Spain has very quickly put its economy back into shape. Inflation and interest rates have come down, unemployment rates are slowly but steadily decreasing, the currency has been stabilized, the public sector debt has been reduced, state-owned industry is moving towards privatization, outlooks for trade are optimistic, and billions of dollars are being invested in far-sighted high-tech projects which are attracting the interest of many multi-national corporations. As many analysts had foreseen, Spain was among the first European Union nations to join the European Monetary Union in 1999, and some have gone as far as to say that Spain is not only laying the groundwork to become Europe�s economic engine in the south, but is also on the way of becoming the most dynamic european economies. This new situation is of course reflected in the current tendencies of recruitment and hiring of young graduates. Technical careers are today those which have the best professional perpectives, and the most demanded graduates are currently Engineers (Industrial, Telecommunications and Informatics), Economists, Physicists and Mathematicians, Lawyers, Chemists and Maketing experts. When recruiting graduates, company priorities have shifted. MBAs, and other Masters, are no longer a passport to success - i.e. a good job - and companies no longer value them as highly as they did a few years ago. Today it is more important to have a good knowledge of languages (English plus a third language, usually German or French), computer literacy, previous experience (obtained through student placement schemes, EU stages, or other jobs, preferably in the same economical sector), and specific personal qualifications. In this sense, companies are looking for graduates which are motivated, flexible, pragmatic, dynamic, responsable, intellectually aggresive, and able to work both independently and in a team. The economic sectors which currently demand most graduates are informatics, telecommunications, trade, services, consulting, financial and engineering. It is important to point out the growing demand for graduates, in the past four years, on the part of SMEs. Job offers are easiest to find in the service and industrial sectors and the best perspectives for the future creation of employment are to be found in the areas of: telecommunications, transportation, leisure and tourism, environment, and personal services. Although the unemployment rate is still the highest in the European Union (15.3% for the fourth quarter of 1999), it is important to point out that it has progressively been going down since the end of 1994, when it reached its highest historical level at 23.9%. Graduate unemployment only accounts for approximately 7% of the total unemployment rate. HOW ARE CANDIDATES RECRUITED? In Spain, there are not specific seasons for graduate recruitment as in other countries. Recruitment is carried out all year long, although the summer months of July and August are practically inactive. Candidates are recruited principally through advertisements in the national press (in particular, the Sunday editions of �El Pa�s�,�ABC�, �El Mundo� and �Expansi�n�) and specialized publications, followed by alumni networks, recruitment agencies, and direct contact with graduates (word of mouth, personal contacts, spontaneous candidatures). Companies do not recur to recruitment and student fairs as much as in other countries, but the tendency is changing and their participation in these events is growing quickly. When recruiting foreign graduates, companies also contact Universities and Business Schools directly, and they recur to commercial/business contacts in other countries. THE COVER LETTER The cover letter must be short (no more than one page), and unless it it specifically requested by the company, it should never be manucript. The style should be direct, dymanic and concrete. Sentences should be short and to the point; they should not begin with �I�. Copies of academic degrees, certificates, and recommendation letters should only be sent if the company requests them. Photographs, if required, should not be pasted on the cover letter or Curriculum Vitae and must always have the candidate�s name written on the back. THE JOB INTERVIEW There are basically two types of job interviews: those carried out by a single interviewer in a relaxed atmosphere, and those in which the candidate is interviewed several times and must go through a series of tests (normally general knowledge, languages and psycho-technical; graphological tests are never used in 95% of the cases). In both cases, the interviewer will request further details regarding the candidate�s Curriculum Vitae (jobs held, level of responsibility, results obtained, motives for previous job changes, etc.) and will want to explore the candidate�s professional objectives and expectations in the company. When preparing for a job interview the candidate must be prepared to present his professional objectives, explain why he has chosen a specific option over others, how he believes he should carry out his job in the company, etc. It is important that the candidate be well informed regarding the company�s activities, products, brand-names, sales, number of employees, competitors, etc. before going to the interview. There
is a Spanish equivalent of Success and Career called � Guia de
las Empresas que Ofrecen Empleo"
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