You should make sure that you have an overall appreciation of the recruitment and selection process for graduates as well as a general understanding of what employers want.

Most large employers base their recruitment and selection on competences, and you need to make sure that you understand both the principles and how these are applied in the selection process.  When you are applying for a specific job or postgraduate course/research, you will have to identify detail of what is involved and what competences are required.

Of equal importance is detailed knowledge about your own competences – your knowledge, skills and personal qualities; identifying your evidence will help you gather together all of the information you will require for the next application stage of the process.

See What do employers want? on the Graduate Prospects website for more ideas.  This article forms part of a section called What do graduates do? that provides information on UK graduates' career destinations.

To view Employer Videos provided by Abintegro.com, login to Blackboard, go to the Interactive Career Planning course and click on "Employer Videos" in the left-hand menu.  Here's a taster:-