tips

Long gone are the golden days when companies would hover around universities recruiting fresh-faced graduates for high-paying schemes. Now most of us have to look pretty far afield to get a decent starting salary, or indeed any salary at all.

And being forced to travel just to get a 15-minute meeting with a potential employer makes the whole interview process 100 times more stressful than it normally is.

You're not just trying to prepare some answers and get your CV in tip-top shape, you're also dealing with crashing on a friend's sofa or surviving a cheap hotel room in a strange city you're completely lost in.

So that you can concentrate on that all-important prep work, we're sharing a few top tips that'll help make your next out-of-town interview go much smoother. Take a look.

#1: calculate travel expenses before you go

Before you agree to an interview, calculate travel expenses so that you can determine whether or not it's worth it. It might seem awkward, but ask if they offer compensation for travel costs. Lots of bigger companies will, although they may not always advertise it.

If they don't provide financial help, then check Skyscanner for deals on any flights you need and Airbnb for cheaper accommodation, to save as much money as possible.

#2: don't cut it too fine

Living in another country is an exciting prospect, but when you've been there a couple of weeks and the novelty of being somewhere new wears off, it's normal to go through a period where you might feel a little isolated and out of sorts.

This is entirely natural; you've started living in a society that is different to the one you've grown up in and some things are bound to feel strange. However, the best thing to do at this point is to take some practical steps to increase your sense of belonging, rather than remaining an outsider. Here's how to start making those connections.

Get Some Guidance

You might be feeling lonely or homesick, away from the support network of family and friends you've always had around you. Of course, you can stay in touch with them via social media and phone calls, but that isn't always enough to help you feel settled. In fact, it can sometimes make your isolation feel greater.

If you are wondering why you made the choice to study abroad and doubt your resolve to stick with the course, try having a psychic reading to allow you to consider what you're looking to achieve. Most people find it enlightening to talk to a third party such as a psychic as they can offer insights into why someone has made certain decisions in life.

Socialise Through Sport

It can be a daunting prospect thinking about life after University. In amongst all the other pressures of university life, particularly the hard study of third year, focusing on graduate jobs tends to drop quite far down the pecking order

But it needn't be so stressful. There's plenty of small and medium commitments you can integrate into your university life to prepare yourself for the big wide world. You may even find that you're doing plenty already!

What's important is that you know how to position your activities to put yourself in the most favourable light. Let's get under way with...

Get a part time job

It may be that you have more pressing financial concerns for starting the job search early. While you may feel like a coffee shop job or spending weekends pulling pints isn't embellishing your CV at all, it can actually be a huge boost provided you know how to spin it.

You’ve got interviews for graduate jobs, fantastic! Now you need to make sure you make the most of it. These top 10 interview tips will help you excel.

1. Prepare, prepare, prepare

Doing research is key to succeeding in your interview. Before you can sell to the interviewer how your personality and skills fit with the company and the role you need to understand a number of things: what the company does; what the position you are interviewing for entails; and who your interviewer is.

Here's my short and sweet guide to what's hot and trending on the web. These series of posts will keep students up to date with international insights, current technology and popular culture:

Murray shouldn't be too upset

The UK has been gripped by news of Andy Murray's defeat at wimbledon, however, many tennis followers (and opportunists) on Twitter have raised an interesting point that after his Wimbledon loss, things aren't all doom and gloom for Mr.Murray. Their reasoning is based on the good looks of his girlfriend Kim Sears, read their entertaining comments on Buzz Feed Sports.