It is crucial that the graduating class of 2011 is attentive to current employment statistics which warn that the job market remains below pre-recession levels and consequently the number of job applications is at an all-time high. However, for contemporary graduates, perhaps a more constructive outlook to consider is that any individual, if persistent, can draw their future employer's attention to them alone. The key to turning employment despair into delight is positive thinking.
Existing graduate employment rates may leave one feeling despondent about the present graduate job market; the Office of National Statistics (ONS) informs society that the majority of people who opted for part-time employment during the recession are now returning to full-time employment. Moreover, experienced workers who felt forced to accept employment which left their acquired skills' decrepit during the recession, are expected to rectify this by accepting the first post-recession employment offer that they receive. Graduates are thus faced with the all-too unsightly reality of competing with fellow and former graduates for employment in addition to victims of the recession, who are either returning to full-time from part-time employment or as graduates of courses undertaken to escape the economic downturn.
In order to defy the negative statistics currently staining the graduate job market with depression it is of paramount importance that recent graduates think positively and call to mind the skills they have been steadily developing throughout their degree. While fresh-faced graduates may be unable to compete with skilled workers attempting to return to full-time employment in terms of industry experience, graduates are advantaged by their training in the latest learning skills.
According to recent research, graduates excel in problem solving and logic exercises. It is furthermore scientifically proven that the age at which the human brain can process and retain the most information is between 20 and 25; though faced with older, and most probably wiser competition, graduates boast the ability to learn quicker and retain more information than older candidates.
The discerning graduate may have to transform the saying "Patience is a virtue" into their daily mantra while awaiting responses from potential employers and it is thus crucial to be productive and utilise the professional help available to them. Though academic individuals were formally tutors at university, post-university they become familiar learned professionals upon whom it may be wise to call for career advice. It must be said that the most obvious way to ensure that you stand out to employers is through in-depth preparation, whether that be in psychometric tests that otherwise may cause one to fluster or simple interview and communication skills practice. It is imperative that graduates retain their enthusiasm; keep up the same level of hard work during applying for jobs that was demanded during the dreaded 'finals' period.
It is essential that the graduating class of 2011 dispel the negativity which threatens to cloud their enthusiasm and embrace positivity. While job interviews may hold a reputation for being a socially acceptable form of human torture, graduates, more than older candidates they face competing against, may use the skills they have developed, think positively and thus transform them into a one-man showcase of their talents and qualifications.
