There’s not a day goes by when the recruitment market isn’t mentioned in the media, each time providing a conflicting view of the current situation. So it’s hardly surprising that in a recent Prospects poll, 80 per cent of students were unsure of their employability after graduation.
Keep on moving
While the job market might be uncertain, what is certain is that work doesn’t stop, it just changes and adapts to deal with the economic downturn.
‘The job market is more competitive, but having a portfolio packed with experience and qualifications will help graduates land those prized positions. It continues to be a fact that, long-term, a degree will make you more employable,’ says Mike Hill, CEO of Graduate Prospects.
Keeping up-to-date with what’s going on in your sector, and taking the advice that’s out there, will help steer your career path.
It is even more important than ever that students consult their university careers service for advice and guidance. Rather than making hurried decisions dictated by the market i.e. chasing the limited range of graduate training opportunities currently available, they should step back and make a long-term plan,’ says Alison Bird, careers advisor at the University of Oxford.
Hard work
There are still plenty of jobs, it’s just harder to get them and, as you would expect, if you have a degree then you are more likely to get these jobs. The 2008 Labour Force Survey highlights this, with only 3 per cent of graduates under 30 in unemployment, compared to 8 per cent of non-graduates in the same age group.
‘Many businesses are continuing to brand themselves on campus and are trying to maintain their graduate recruitment programmes - even if they're only running at a percentage of last year's. They’re already getting many more applicants, and of higher quality too,’ says Mike Hill.
Still recruiting
There will always be a demand for people in certain sectors, such as healthcare and technology. Currently there is good demand for people to work in the green sector or take up a supermarket graduate recruitment scheme.
‘Broaden your job search strategy to include posts that are similar to your primary target but perhaps in a different sector or region,’ suggests Alison.
‘When we emerge from this recession, we will need all the talent we can muster. The need for a skilled workforce will only increase as trends suggest that over the next decade there will be an increase in the number of jobs needing higher levels of skills and a decrease in lower-skilled work as more jobs will be digitalised,’ suggests Mike.
Now we’re not saying that everything is fine but we have been in a recession before and have overcome that and so we will overcome this. It’s all about using your degree and making the most of the time between graduation and landing your career job to build on your transferable skills.