You might have heard companies talk about how important it is to have commercial awareness. We're here to help you understand what commercial awareness is, why it's important and how to become more commercially aware.

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What is commercial awareness?

It’s an understanding of how businesses and organisations work. This isn’t something you can pick up overnight. You need to invest time and energy to really understand what makes businesses tick and how they connect with the world around them. Here are some tips of things to think about as you prepare to apply for roles. 

  • Join industry related networks and groups
  • Keep up to date with what's happening in the world
  • Go to careers fairs and talk with recruiters
  • Get some exposure to real life work – shadowing, mentoring or work experience is great
  • Create a LinkedIn profile if you haven't already.
  • Research the companies you want to work for
  • Set up Google alerts to stay up to date with their news
  • Watch TV programmes and listen to podcasts about their industry
  • Research who their clients are and the services they offer
  • Understand the political and social landscape they operate in.
  • Get up to speed with the latest firm and industry news
  • Read their annual reports to understand their values and how they make money
  • Browse LinkedIn for up-to-date sector developments
  • Connect with your network to get their insights.

Assessing commercial awareness

When we interview you, we'll ask you some questions to assess your commercial awareness, below are some example questions we may ask you.

Q. From your research, what do you think makes Grant Thornton stand out from our competitors and why does that make you want to work here?

To answer this, you'll need to have researched our competitors and what makes us different. There are lots of reasons why people choose Grant Thornton, such as our people, our values, and the clients we work with. Make sure you know why you put your application in.

Q. What impact could you see the cost of living crisis having on our business and our clients? How can we support them through this?

You need to know the external factors that impact companies and what challenges and opportunities they create. The current economic uncertainty is just one example of many. You don't need to have all the answers. We just want to see you're paying attention to the world around you and the way businesses are connected to it.

Q. What sort of services do we offer clients?

We’re not looking for you to reel off the entire list. But you need to show an understanding of what we do and how our services benefit clients. We simply want to see that you're interested in us and have done your research.

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