Welcome to 2012. A challenging year, especially if you are graduating from university and looking to kick start your graduate careers. With Christmas already a fading memory, our thoughts naturally look to what lies ahead and for those who are in their final year at university it may appear a daunting prospect.
Some leading employers are reporting record numbers of applications this time around. The latest GRB poll asked students to put themselves in the employers' shoes. How would they handle a large number of job applications? Almost two thousand responses were received and, fascinatingly, the clear leader in differentiating between applicants was, surprise surprise, work experience! Some 58% valued work experience before degree class (23%), the university attended (18%) and 'A' level results (a paltry 2%).
This does not exactly tally with established recruiting practice, which puts degree class first, with work experience trailing some way behind. However, most employers don't rely on one criterion when narrowing down the field. Many do place a high value on work experience together with the degree class.
With so many uncertainties about the British, European and Global economies, it is difficult to predict how the graduate jobs market will pan out in 2012 but my guess is that, short of a major economic collapse, the situation will be very similar to last year. Some sectors will fare better than others and that means the graduate class of 2012 will have to be alert to who is recruiting and who is not. Linked to this, flexibility in career choice will also be important.
Recruiters are reporting that applications are landing on their desks earlier and some closing dates have passed or are due to close. So what are the prospects for those who have yet to start their job hunt? Have they missed the boat? Is it time to panic?
Not at all! Of course, the sooner job hunters get started the better but many businesses, including large scale recruiters have yet to shut up shop and some operate year round recruitment programmes anyway. Medium and smaller enterprises are less likely to recruit months in advance and that's another pointer for class of 2012. It is wise not to just focus career search on larger businesses. There are many smaller organisations recruiting graduates these days and if you add up all their vacancies it amounts to a significant proportion of the jobs market.
Job seeking tactics in 2012 are no different than in previous years but nevertheless worth repeating:
- Do your research
- Concentrate on quality rather than quantity in job applications
- Always tailor an application to the job and business you are applying to
- Make sure you do yourself justice - in other words market yourself and what you have to offer (including work experience)
- If you are uncertain what direction you want to take, seek advice from your careers service (now)
- Don't ignore your studies. A decent degree is still important.
- Plan the use of your time carefully and strike a sensible balance between study and job search
- Network and link in with agencies such as GRB who provide an invaluable conduit to graduate jobs. Last year GRB placed over 400 graduates into work making them one of the top 20 recruiters in the UK
- Be as flexible with your aspirations as you can be
- Be mobile - not all successful career routes lead to London
- If at first you don't succeed don't give up
- Remember - if you don't get into a graduate level job or training programme immediately, you have not missed the boat. Many of the graduates who will be recruited this summer will have graduated last year or even earlier.
Luck certainly plays a part in securing the job of your dreams but I subscribe to the view that, to a large extent, you create your own luck.
Carl GilleardChief ExecutiveAGR - The voice of graduate recruiters
