‘GET REAL’ TO COMBAT JOBS UNCERTAINTY SAY GRADUATES

In recent times students graduating from university have benefited from a buoyant jobs market but it seems that tougher times lie ahead for those planning to enter the world of work in 2009 as a result of the credit crunch and global economic uncertainty.

Whilst it is too early to accurately predict what the jobs market will look like next year, the Graduate Recruitment Bureau set out to gauge the mood of this year’s graduate job seekers. A survey of graduates on the GRB database revealed fascinating insights into their mind sets and an imaginative list of top tips for others hunting for jobs in the same tightening market.

High on the list of things to do were:
Lower your sights in the short-term
Apply early
Be flexible over such things as location, pay, career choice and contract terms
Try to gain work experience in your chosen career area even if this means working for nothing
Differentiate yourself from the masses by brushing up your interview skills and undertaking thorough research into the sector and firms you are applying to
Network like mad by registering with agencies, attending recruitment and careers fairs and using friends and family contacts. But, they warn, under no account just sit at home and do your research on the web (useful as that is)

The survey results suggest that graduates are being pragmatic and realistic about their prospects. They know it will be hard to land that dream job and it may take longer than normal to achieve their goals. If at first they don’t succeed they are prepared to look at alternative routes, including:

Unpaid work experience
Voluntary work
Postgraduate courses of study
Gaining further qualifications and skills though training
Temporary work
Taking a year out

A fair degree of stoicism showed through in the responses, as suggested by advice to:

Be patient and persevere – stay positive
Maintain your confidence levels
Learn from missed opportunities
Be the best you can be but never think you are too good for anything
Don’t let rejections get you down
Never, ever give up!
Understanding yourself, your values, interests and motivations.

The respondents could hardly be accused of hypocrisy! Asked to describe their own attitude towards successfully securing the career of their choice
· 31% said they were being realistic
· 28% said they were optimistic
· A further 20% described themselves as confident
· Only 18% felt they were being pessimistic.

Alternative strategies being employed to achieve their goals included:
· Working overseas (6%)
· Working for free (7%)
· Travelling further afield (12%)
· Being more flexible (16%)
· Revising career goals (9%)
· Lowering expectations 7%)
· Returning to study (7%).

This generation of graduate job seekers are also willing to network and seek support wherever they can find it. Sources of help included:
· Recruitment agencies (67%)
· Family and friends (42%)
· Graduate recruitment directories (44%)
· Job centres (33%)
· Recruitment fairs (33%)
· University careers services (45%)
· Web resources (50%)

Only 3.5% of the sample declared that they were going it alone.
When asked why the graduate jobs market was tightening, the respondents were divided in apportioning blame. 15% blamed the global economic climate and a further 9% blamed the UK climate. 14%, said there were too many graduates and a further 10% felt there were too few graduate jobs to go round. 12% blamed their university for not doing enough to prepare them while 4% blamed themselves for not having started their job search early enough. A further 10% admitted there were not enough graduate jobs in the region they were looking for work in. Employers did not entirely escape criticism with 13% claiming that employers were setting too high standards.
Commenting on the survey results, GRB co-founder Dan Hawes said “Who better to ask about job seeking strategies in a recession than those at the sharp end? Running a graduate recruitment consultancy, I can identify with the sentiments expressed by those going through the process of seeking their first ‘real’ job at this time. It isn’t easy in the present climate but as our respondents have clearly shown, they are refusing to concede defeat and are facing up to the challenges in a realistic, positive and down to earth way.”
Notes:

1.The survey of 368 UK based graduates on the GRB database was conducted in October 2008. 52% were male. 71% had achieved either a first on a 2:1 degree class. The vast majority had already graduated but a small number of final students also contributed.

2.Dan Hawes, co-founder, is available for interview and can be contacted on 01273 200411, 07769 975917 or d.hawes@grb.uk.com

3.Graduate Recruitment Bureau (GRB) can offer a range of services to fulfill all of your graduate recruitment needs. From Search and Selection to Online Advertising we offer you choice and flexibility.Since 1997 we have been helping graduate recruiters, large and small, meet their hiring targets. Our CV database covers students and graduates from the Times Top 30 Universities in Science, Technology, Engineering, Math’s, Legal, Language, Business, Economics, Accounting, Marketing and Humanities degrees with 2.1s or higher and strong A Levels. We have two main services to attract and hire graduates- Search and Selection and Online Advertising.Search and Selection - Our team of Recruitment Consultants specialise in different sectors and take a detailed brief from each client. We then search for suitable candidates from our extensive CV database, screen and introduce the best candidate CVs. Our services have been used by graduate recruiters to fill places on graduate schemes, ad-hoc roles, shortfall and hard to fill vacancies requiring a degree.Online Advertising - Our award winning website enables graduate recruiters to attract high calibre graduates to their vacancies. With in-house design and performance metric reporting this service is an excellent branding opportunity and highly targeted recruitment marketing campaign.

4. GRB Quick Facts
-200, 000 registered job seeking students and graduates from all disciplines and all UK universities
-47% from the Times Top 30 Universities
-30,000 graduated in 2008
-16,500 graduating in 2009
-40,000 unique visits a month on our award-winning website www.grb.uk.com
-Established in 1997 by two graduates
-Several blue chip clients and fast growing SMEs
-AGR and REC member