In a survey conducted this week, 8 in 10 of the recent graduates questioned revealed they wished they had received more advice from their university's careers service. Interesting, this comes from a sample of which 61 per cent were in full time occupation and 37 per cent in degree-related position, suggesting that even amongst those who have obtained a graduate job, their exists some element of regret.
Amongst those services such graduates may have missed out on are opportunities to fine-tune CVs and improve interview skills, as well as sessions on particular career paths and presentations by employers. However, it is this latter option which received some criticism by those surveyed, suggesting that universities ought to be working closer with employers in order to tailor their careers guidance to what the employer is particularly looking for in the workplace. For me, a problematic area of this survey comes in the idea of careers advice as something which is "received", furthering the idea of the student as a totally passive participant in the process. In reality, this is not how careers guidance works; in my experience the services on offer are plentiful, but require a certain level of effort on the student's part to initiate contact and make the most of them. It is right that this is the case, as it rewards those students with initiative and ambition, but nonetheless the evidential distance that exists between many students and their university's careers service is worrying.
Students themselves could reduce this gap in many cases, but the survey suggests that greater visibility of a careers service throughout every university may also be beneficial. In particular, making freshers instantly aware of the opportunities available to them the moment they arrive at university may be beneficial, as for many, the first year will include little in the way of forward-thinking and this can easily set the tone for the two or three years that follow. For many, arriving at university itself is a daunting enough process to have to handle on its own, but by preparing them for what comes next from the very beginning, their eventual exit will be far less so.
Jon, GRB Journalist
