20 May Top 10 Tips for landing your dream graduate agribusiness job.
Perrin Ag is tapping into more than a decade of experience employing agribusiness graduates to offer university students tips for landing their first dream role as 2025 intakes open.
Perrin Ag knows a thing or two about recruiting graduates. For nearly 10 years, the firm has taken on university graduates from across the country and officially launched its Empower Graduate Advisor programme in 2020. The 2025 intake is now open to Waikato, Lincoln and Massey university students.
The team has been impressed by the emerging talent, but solid academic performance and impressive community involvement won’t get you past the first gate if you don’t nail your application. The Perrin Ag team has seen its fair share of trainwrecks and best practice. The firm’s Business Manager Mike Matthews explains.
“We have received more than one cover letter that was obviously generic because it still included the names of our competitors!” he says. “We have seen CVs that were generated by ChatGPT and still included the ‘populate your experience here’ text prompts.
“Formatting mistakes and spelling errors are still commonplace. I would encourage applicants to make the most of support tools, such as Grammarly. We have seen evidence of people not reading application instructions. For example, we ask for an academic transcript and get a note with the application saying their transcripts are available on request.
“On the upside, we’ve been impressed over the years with people who have really done their homework on Perrin Ag. Those who have considered their 3–5-year plan and proactively shared examples of their work have also captured our attention. This is the type of effort and level of professionalism that will impress employers enough to offer you an interview.”
So, what is Mike’s top tip?
“Your CV and cover letter are your golden tickets, so it’s worth putting in the effort to make them shine,” he says. “Remember, one size doesn’t fit all, show your consideration by customising your application to each specific role. Trust us, it makes all the difference.”
With applications for Perrin Ag’s 2025 Empower graduate advisor intake open, the Perrin Ag team has put together its top ten tips for graduates beginning their job search in agribusiness.
Our top 10 tips for agri-business grads
- Have a concise CV – Employers have busy schedules, so make it easy for them to see your brilliance. Tailor the content for each of your applications by emphasising your most relevant skills. Don’t forget to list your community involvement. Can you inject some creativity and colour into your content and layout?
- Use numbers to quantify experience. For example, “I managed a team of 10 volunteers.”
- Personalise your cover letter. Tailor your cover letter to the role you are applying for. Avoid slang or informal language and prioritise grammar, punctuation, and spelling. While AI tools can assist, ensure your letter reflects your authentic voice. Consider standing out with video cover letters. Take an opportunity to set yourself apart with personalised, attention to detail and thoughtful preparation.
- Have a polished social media presence – Consider adjusting privacy settings on platforms like Facebook and LinkedIn to control who can view your content. Maintaining a clean and professional online presence is crucial in today’s job market.
- Research the company – Learn as much as you can about your prospective employer’s key people, products or services, competitors, and industry trends.
- Display your passion for agriculture and the impact it has on communities, the economy, and the environment. This shows the interviewer that you’re passionate about the role, and more likely to be engaged and motivated if you are hired.
- Be prepared to articulate your view on key industry issues. Take the time to research and identify key industry challenges. In ag, these may be things like environmental issues, GHG or animal welfare. Show you have a viewpoint, and an opinion on ways forward.
- Convey confidence – remember the power of a smile, maintaining eye contact and mindful body language. Dressing professionally is key – first impressions count for a lot.
- Have at least one good question prepared for your interview. This shows your genuine interest in the role and is a great opportunity to gather important information about the company. Remember you’re also interviewing them as a fit for you.
- Identify your career goals. Before the interview think about what you’d like to achieve in your career, both in the short and long term. This will help you talk about your goals more confidently during the interview and allow the business to consider how they might best support you.
