1. 05/11/2015 16:58Karen Barker – Graduate Recruitment Manager at Deutsche Bank - Oxford Women in Business
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OXFORD WOMEN IN BUSINESS
31/1/2015
KAREN BARKER – GRADUATE RECRUITMENT MANAGER AT
DEUTSCHE BANK (HTTP://WWW.OXWIB.COM/PREVIOUS-
EVENTS/KAREN-BARKER-GRADUATE-RECRUITMENT-
MANAGER-AT-DEUTSCHE-BANK)
This term, OxWIB is focusing on skills and personal development. Accordingly, on Monday OxWIB
were delighted to host Karen Barker (Graduate Recruitment Manager at Deutsche Bank) who
provided a useful skills event on the deceptively simple task of writing a CV.
Karen was refreshingly honest about the pressures of being a Graduate Recruitment Manager – as
everyone is aware, there are hundreds and sometimes thousands of applications and CVs for
some highly sought after internships & graduate roles. Accordingly, those in recruitment have 30-
60 seconds to glance at each application and decide whether the candidate will progress or be
relegated to the wastepaper bin. However, Karen emphasised that this should not be a cause for
concern and offered OxWIB members the following key tips to maximise impact in the recruitment
process.
Graduate recruiters are looking for what are going to add to the business. Accordingly, Karen
noted that it makes no sense for a candidate to praise the comprehensive training scheme of a
company without pinpointing how the company will benefit from skills. Companies know that
they are offering such comprehensive schemes. However, they do not know your ideas, your
leadership potential or how committed you are to your goals. All of these are potential benefits
which you could add to a company and it is definitely worth pointing these out.
30-60 seconds is no time at all. Therefore, recruiters like Karen want something to catch their eye
and differentiate one CV or application from the rest of the crowd. Karen asked for examples from
members at the talk and it was so interesting to hear about the different experiences which people
had – everything from unusual language skills, to cultural experiences and positions of
responsibility in societies. It is all too clear that intellectual intelligence is not the be all and end all.
However, Karen was reassuring – we do all have the potential for such experiences, but we must
make sure to take part and to effectively relay this information back to recruiters. On this point
Karen told us about a really interesting “CV” she received in the form of a box of apples – it
certainly stood out to her!
30 – 60 seconds
What is the return on their investment?
you
their
What differentiates you?
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2. 05/11/2015 16:58Karen Barker – Graduate Recruitment Manager at Deutsche Bank - Oxford Women in Business
Page 2 of 2http://www.oxwib.com/previous-events/karen-barker-graduate-recruitment-manager-at-deutsche-bank
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In relation to the above point, Karen noted that simply noting your amazing experiences is not
enough. What is really important is quantifying your successes so that recruiters can understand
what skills you utilised and whether you had a real impact. For example, stating that you are JCR
President is certainly a good start, but stating that you are a JCR President who has negotiated rent
reductions of 5% and managed a team of 50 students on an open day is much more impressive.
We saw this for ourselves in the talk – when members with a differentiating quality were pushed
on what the actual results were, their achievements were even more impressive.
This is a tip which is often repeated, but still not always followed! Karen confirmed that she still
receives applications which spell the company’s name incorrectly or just use a different company
name altogether. It really does pay to have a friend or someone at the careers service look over
your application or CV. It is also important to make sure you know a company’s values and
competencies – and that you demonstrate these in your application. All big graduate recruiters
may seem the same at first glance, but it is crucial to dig deeper and discover what each company
really prides themselves on or strives towards.
Karen provided a really informative and honest talk, which has definitely inspired many of us to
dust off the CV and make sure it truly represents our skills. At the end, Karen (rightly) reminded us
that we are at a university which is full of opportunity. If you feel your CV is lacking or you want to
develop your skills, it is up to you to seize the moment and try new things.
OxWIB events are a great place to start – we have a term filled with skills workshops and even our
very own think tank/group talk on internships coming up. Keep an eye on our Facebook and
Twitter updates to find out more and we hope to see you soon!
Kirsty Iredale
Worcester College
Quantify your successes
Tailor your CV
Seek out opportunities
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