Graduates are being reassured by the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR) that their degree is a valuable asset and that there are still graduate jobs out there, despite the rather daunting findings of their most recent survey.
The AGR’s summer survey revealed that the amount of graduate job vacancies has now dropped by 24.9%. Combined with the further news that graduate salaries are staying at a stagnant level and that competition for graduate jobs has increased - with a current average of 48 applications for every job - this will no doubt give graduates more reason to worry about getting a graduate job.
However, Carl Gilleard, Chief Executive of the AGR, is encouraging graduates to stay positive. “It is important to look at this in context and to point out that very few employers have abandoned their graduate recruitment programmes altogether and most are likely to reinstate recruitment levels at the first sign of an upturn in the economy.
I would also like to reassure graduates that though things will be harder, their degree is a valuable asset and there are still opportunities out there for those who do their research and focus on quality rather than quantity of applications.”
Sarah Evans, Director of Client Services at Discovery Graduates reinforces this view but stresses the importance of adapting to the changing times.
“Graduates must maximise every opportunity to increase employability in the current economic climate.
The ‘perfect’ graduate job may not be available in your preferred industry or discipline owing to job cuts in those areas, but they may be in the future, so rather than holding out start building your experience so that when the up turn in the economy occurs you are well placed to progress.
This may mean taking a job now which is not part of a graduate scheme, or accepting a salary which is less than you hoped for, or relocating for a role.
Remember to keep your options open and research opportunities you had not necessarily considered before.
Despite the doom and gloom you read in the media, there are still some great opportunities out there for graduates; you just have to look a little bit harder to find them.”
Every week Discovery Graduates runs a Discovery Day assessment centre to identify the skill set of graduates and help advise on what opportunities may be suitable. To attend this assessment centre you must first be selected from a telephone interview, for further information contact our Graduate Account Managers on 0121 212 3111.