The Hireable Handbook
Most students learn a lot. Proving it is the hard part.
This handbook gives you a simple system for turning what you learn into something visible — analysis, portfolio work, and content that shows employers how you think.
The Problem
You can explain what you have learnt. You cannot demonstrate it.
Lectures, notes, assignments. There is no shortage of information going in. But when it comes to applying for graduate opportunities, there is often little to show for it. Understanding ideas is not the same as applying them. And applying them is not the same as making that visible.
Being hireable is about proof, not potential.
The System
Three steps. That is it.
Instead of overcomplicating it, the handbook follows a simple sequence you can apply to anything you learn.
Learn
What you are taught in lectures, from content, or through your own research. The starting point most students never move past.
Break down
Apply it to something real. Pick a business, a market, a product. Use the framework to simplify what actually matters.
Show
Turn the thinking into something visible. A LinkedIn post, a short write-up, a carousel. If you do not show it, it does not count.
Learn → Break down → Show
For example: learn about market positioning, analyse a local business, share the insight.
What's Inside
Eight sections. Designed to be used, not just read.
Pick up a notepad or open a document before you start. The handbook works best when you apply it as you go.
The Problem
Why students who work hard still struggle to demonstrate it when applying for graduate opportunities.
What Hireable Means
Being hireable is not about knowing everything or having loads of experience. It is about showing how you think.
The Hireable System
Three steps: Learn, Break down, Show. How to apply what you know to something real and make it visible.
Breaking Down a Business
A five-question framework for analysing any business. You do not need to cover everything, just what matters.
Turning It Into Something You Can Show
A simple structure for writing up your analysis. Hook, Insight, Breakdown, Takeaway.
Building Your Portfolio
You do not need a perfect website or loads of work. Three to five strong examples of how you think is enough.
Examples
Real breakdowns applied to real businesses. Frome Brewing Co, Colonna & Small's, MARCHON vs PureGym.
Templates and Tools
The business breakdown template and post structure used throughout the handbook, ready to apply straight away.
Inside the Handbook
The business breakdown framework
You do not need to analyse everything about a business. The handbook gives you five questions that cut through to what actually matters. Apply it to any company, local or national, and you have the basis of a portfolio piece.
The handbook includes a worked example using Colonna & Small's — a real breakdown from start to finished piece.
What is the business?
One or two sentences.
Who is it for?
Describe the target customer.
What are they doing well?
What stands out from a commercial perspective?
What stands out?
Similarities or differences to competitors or market norms.
What could be improved?
One or two simple ideas.
Also Inside
The post structure
Once you have the analysis, the handbook shows you how to turn it into a LinkedIn post, carousel, or short write-up that is worth reading.
The first line decides whether someone reads or scrolls. Make it count.
What is the post about? Keep it simple. Think who, what, where, when, why, how.
The value. What is your main takeaway from the analysis?
Clear and scannable. Concise. The analysis itself.
End with something worth remembering. Reflective but forward-looking.
Keep it natural. Something simple, like: Building as I go.
Who It's For
Anyone who learns but struggles to show it
First and second year students
Building a portfolio before you have placement experience. The handbook gives you a way to show commercial thinking from day one.
Placement and internship students
You are surrounded by real business decisions every day. The handbook helps you turn what you observe into something you can share.
Final year and recent graduates
Applying for roles and need to stand out. A small, consistent body of work says more than a list of modules on a CV.
From Tom
“I built this because I kept seeing the same thing. Students doing solid work in seminars, understanding concepts well, but having nothing to show for it by the time applications came around. The handbook is not a course. It is not a template to fill in. It is a simple system. Pick a business, apply the framework, share what you find. Do it a few times and you have a portfolio. Don't overthink it. Just start.”
Tom Archbold · Founder, Hireable · Bath Spa University
Get the Handbook
£2.99 · Yours to keep
A one-off digital guide. Eight sections, a business breakdown framework, a post structure, and a worked example. Apply it once and it pays for itself.
Instant download · PDF · No subscription
Sold via Gumroad · Secure checkout · Instant delivery