This was the question asked by Sarfraz Manzoor on the BBC Radio 4 show 'The Graduate'. He followed six graduates from Leeds University and Leeds Metropolitan University for 12 months after graduation. The main points that came out of the show were the unrealistic expectations of many graduates and the seemingly inaccessible graduate job market. Both of these problems should be the focus of university departments and university careers services. It seems that universities are too far removed from the recruitment process to advise students for the realities of the Graduate Job Market.
Many universities also offer or insist on students taking a career management course as part of a degree. This may frustrate the academics but can be a key factor in exposing students to the graduate job market. A particular benefit of these courses are that they are tailored to individual degree subjects, therefore providing an invaluable insight. Despite this graduates are still dissatisfied with how their university prepared them for the world of work. A recent GRB poll showed that only 18% of respondents believed that their university provided them with the best source of Job Advice, 38% responded that they had received the best advice from websites.
