Are graduate jobs becoming more accessible?

It seems that despite three million people in the UK being unemployed, the chances of finding a job after graduating from university have actually increased, despite recent trends.

Legal recruitment, for example, has shown signs of an increase in demand: we have seen that even the law firms that once didn't offer any training contracts two years ago are beginning to recruit again. Equally, the graduates that had to be deferred are now finally starting contracts agreed before the recession hit. It is important to remember that the competition for law work is intense and the squeeze on job vacancies hasn't helped this problem. For those who may not have received the job they wanted, positions as a paralegal are in good supply; a job that gives graduates good practical experience in the field of law.

For graduates once worried that the blood, sweat and tears in earning a degree would be for nothing, then, there is some hope that their effort wouldn't have been for nothing. Other sectors have also enjoyed a rise in job vacancies, many of which are being tailored to those first entering the world of work. There have been increases in employment opportunities in sectors as diverse as engineering and marketing, for example.

The media industry has also become slightly more welcoming to prospective journalists thanks to the boom in online media. The prospects for graduates attempting to obtain a career in the media industry are now arguably better than they ever have been. With the influence of social media particularly prominent, journalism as a sector is beginning to explore new ways of connecting with readers. As a result, the training that new reporters will have received in the world of online writing will come into good use for the new job positions appearing.

Firms are requiring PR assistants, trainee editors, website designers, junior copywriters, trainee graphic designers and more to take on roles that have developed as the way the media operates has changed. This once again has been influenced by the prominence of new communication platforms such as the Internet in society. It would appear that the smaller media agencies are seriously considering the recruitment of graduates so their businesses can better handle the intense daily workloads of current employees in their job.

It's certainly worth mentioning, however, that the public sector seems to be the outcast. Most industries are beginning to take on new graduates, but with a new government, new policy and the uncertain future of many public institutions, the prospects for graduates in the public sector are not quite as forward-looking as others.

Some public sector organisations are choosing to postpone their graduate jobs schemes, while others are recruiting for the following year without even considering whether or not the organisation actually has a future. Many quangos have faced the axe, so employment is a rather sore topic for the bosses of these institutions.

The government has announced, however, that recruitment will continue in the civil service for the following year, despite there being uncertainty over the final numbers of job vacancies which will be available.

On the other hand, retail is showing perhaps some of the most promising prospects for staff recruitment. As we find ourselves leaving the global economic slump, spending has increased and businesses are leaving behind the difficult times of the recession. Of course, with increased spending we see better stability in the retail world and hence an increase in jobs.

What will be interesting to see is how well large retail firms recover and how many people they recruit to begin dealing with the sector's ever-growing online presence; we've seen over the last few years that online shopping has become nearly as large as store-based retail, and hence more people are going to be required to deal with networking, infrastructure and online sales and marketing.

If you are finding the prospect of employment a challenge, freelancer websites give you access to thousands of jobs that align with your skill set for a monthly subscription. Using these services, you can generate your own work, and establish a reputation for yourself that will be an impressive addition to the CV. Also, with the help and support available from many charities and voluntary organisations, creating a small business might be easier than you think.

The fact is, for graduates, even finding part time jobs is becoming that little bit easier. That said; you shouldn't be complacent about finding a job just yet. The best thing to do is to keep searching and to ensure all of your options are left as open as possible. Good luck!


Source: Johnogroat-journal.co.uk, Friday 13th May 2011