Experts spend a lot of time pontificating on the news about the gloomy graduate job market, but for this year's uni-leavers, the outlook is brighter than it might seem. Graduates are benefiting from a jump in average starting salaries of more than 4% to £26,500 this year, according to an influential report by the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR). That's the first average pay rise since 2009.
Meanwhile competition, though still high at 73 applications per vacancy, is well below its all-time record of 83 last year.
And that's just the bigger recruiters. The phrase "graduate jobs" is now a bit of a misnomer. They're not just the traditional milk-round roles offered by multinational corporations, but working everywhere from farms and laboratories to restaurants and as entrepreneurs.
But the recession has made things harder – and students and graduates are having to change the way they tackle uni and CV experience as a result. "The 'degree equals job' mindset is no longer true," says Gill Betmead, careers adviser at Anglia Ruskin university. "More employers are also looking for soft skills such as communication skills and teamwork, so university careers advisers offer guidance to students such as applying for work experience, volunteering or part-time work, help with graduate job searches, post-graduate study, applications and interview practice. Work experience or volunteering is essential in today's market."
Plan ahead
With the number of graduates working in low-skilled jobs like cleaning or bar work almost doubling to 10,000 in the past five years, according to the government's Higher Education Statistics Agency, it's crucial that students don't ignore careers services until the week before graduation. Most uni career services host workshops, speakers, CV-writing clinics and recruitment fairs throughout the year, and will have a database of alumni who may be able to help out with work experience or even flag up vacancies. They will also alert you to summer internships or placements you can embark on in your first or second-year holidays to help bolster your CV, and these can also lead to job offers.
"Make sure you reflect on what you have learned – both at university and in an extra-curricular capacity – and be able to articulate it in your applications and at interviews," says Carl Gilleard, chief executive of the AGR. "Think about what transferable skills you might have gained and how you would apply your knowledge and experience to different situations. "
It sounds mercenary, but students need to think of themselves as a brand, says Kristian Rumble, graduate employment manager at the University of Hull. "One of the most important things is getting your individual brand right so that you can compete against other graduates," he says. "Employers' feedback about applicants says that the graduates that stand out are the ones that have targeted their applications to the company concerned and have an awareness of the industry sector. It is very important to learn how to sell yourself in an interview situation – you have to consider yourself almost as a 'product' and market yourself appropriately."
That doesn't just mean a snazzy CV, but changing out of casuals and into a suit at careers fairs. "Increasing numbers of business-savvy students and graduates are coming to careers events well-dressed," adds Rumble. "That, plus a portfolio of work to give the businesses, gives a really positive impression."
Source: Lucy Tobin, Guardian.co.uk, Thursday 16th August 2012
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