Early Bird Catches The Worm

GRB’s latest poll reveals some shocking results – at least for graduate recruiters. Asked when they plan to start applying for jobs, 34% said not until after they have graduated. Add to this the 19% who plan to defer their job search until after their finals and more than one in two are not engaging in the jobs market during their final year.

Many employers open their applications season in the autumn when as few as 19% of students are ready to make job applications. We can surmise from this that a significant proportion of final year students are choosing not to aim for a graduate job in the year they graduate. This might explain in part why recruiters are receiving more and more applications from graduates from previous years.

Is this good practice? Well, the logic might be that gaining a decent degree is more important than getting into work so the emphasis is on study rather than job search and it is true that applying for jobs takes time and effort. However, the risk is that the market might deteriorate during the year and in 2012 there could be fewer jobs and greater competition. Students pay their money and make their choices. One hopes however that they have not made up their minds that there are very few jobs around so why bother. That kind of negative thinking almost certainly diminishes the prospect of getting a job, no matter what degree class the graduate obtains.

Click Here For Poll Results

Employers Offered Fast Track Route To New Talent

Graduate Recruitment Bureau (GRB) today launches their Rising Stars for 2011. Recruiters are invited to choose from our pick of the finest emerging talent, handpicked from ten of the UK’s top universities. After the great success of 2010's Rising Stars, GRB’s specialist consultants have screened and shortlisted fifty exceptional students from a range of degree disciplines graduating this summer.

The list is available online at: bit.ly/grbrisingstars

If companies couldn't find really strong graduates last year then they need get ahead of the competition and see this list – these students are truly exceptional. I have personally vetted every single one from hundreds that were shortlisted by the GRB team and they are all special in one way or another. I have one word of warning though; they will find work very quickly so recruiters have to act quickly to snap them up to start later this year. Last year our first Rising Star was snapped up within three weeks of the list being published with an offer of work in the summer.

How does it work? Employers need to visit bit.ly/grbrisingstars and request log in details. This will enable you to see a short summary of each candidate with the option to request a CV and Personality Profile and arrange an interview.

AGR Recruiters Want You In 2011

As members of the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR), the voice of mainly graduate scheme recruiters, GRB were invited to the Winter Survey Launch in London last night. Attended by MP David Willetts and chaired by Terence Perrin, the mood was upbeat and hopeful for 2011. Surprisingly, many AGR members had vacancies unfilled in 2010 which unfortunately didn't register with last year's graduates. A 3.8% increase in vacancies for 2011 across most sectors was encouraging and a message that needed to get out to graduates despondent with recent events.

GRB has also seen an uptick in business and would agree things have turned around but it is still an employers market with recruiters standing firm on graduate salaries with an unprecedented freeze on the average of £25,000 and sticking to high entry requirements of a 2.1 from a Russell Group university. Although this survey represented 222 recruiters offering 20,971 roles on schemes this was only 10% of the overall graduate jobs market. GRB have seen many graduates opting for non-scheme roles which makes up a huge part of the destinations for recent high calibre graduates. Here's a round up of how some of the media is reporting the survey;

BBC - http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-12266766
The Guardian - http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2011/jan/25/graduates-employment-rise-outlook
Financial Times - http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e633b398-27f9-11e0-8abc-00144feab49a.html

Rising Stars 2011

Now in its second year, GRB are delighted to announce that nominations are open for Rising Stars. Our exclusive list of exceptionally talented finalists from the UKs top institutions will be shortlisted, screened and showcased on our website in February 2011. GRB then actively promote our list of the 50 best graduating students to a select portfolio of leading recruiters with the sole objective of securing employment for our Rising Stars before they graduate. Apply today!

PS. Here's a Rising Star we placed last year!

Universities Challenged

With one of the oldest University systems in the world it was inevitable any change would attract passionate opinions from Government, Students, Graduates, Employers and Parents across England. The problem is no-one can agree but a decision could be made based on Lord Browne's report.


From our point of view we can see it from many angles and despite it being an increase in cost to parents and students they are now consumers with rights. Students should expect value for money and a world beating education for the investment they are making in further education. For Universities they now have the much needed funding to get them back on an even keel and start climbing back up the world league rankings and deliver on student expectations. Meanwhile, employers will continue to benefit from the pool of talented graduates with skills and intellect to drive this country out of the recession.

I have kept in touch with about six University friends since we left Brighton University in '94. I stayed on the south coast whilst all the others returned home. I recently met with them all and one guy reminded me it was 20 years ago that we all started at Brighton Uni! Apart from feeling really old and wondering where the years had gone it made me realise how our choice to go to Uni led us directly onto the paths we now lead.

Back then you could still get a grant and there was certainly less debt. It was just as much fun then as it is now and after three to four years (I did a year placement) we entered the world of work. All bar one have taken careers related to their degree interestingly. I asked him if he would change anything and he said, studied harder for his A Levels and become an Investment Banker!

Whilst we are not all money-motivated, for him, like many others his choice was predetermined by exam results and hindsight is a wonderful thing but I think everyone finds their level and we have all done pretty well for ourselves. Will I be recommending Uni for my son? Most definitely, the difference this time is I'm the one paying for it!

The Guardian UK 300

Today see's the launch of a survey of students and graduates and the companies they want to work for. Similar to the Times Top 100 this survey adds 200 more to the list. It's great to see that more graduate recruiters are being revealed in this suurvey but it is by no means the full picture.

This year there were 60,000 graduate jobs available. 16,000 or 27% were from blue-chip recruiters, most are included in this survey. Graduates should and will apply for these roles and, as ever, competition will be tough. Smart graduates will have a strategy that appreciates 73% of graduate jobs remain hidden and include other techniques so they have the best possible choice of job offers. The only way to hear about these hidden jobs tend to be from either knowing the right people in ther first place through your own personal connections or enlisting the help of recruitment agents who have exclusive contracts with employers to source graduates.

The economy has changed forever forcing graduate recruiters to look for more cost-effective ways to recruit which very often can mean outsourcing to recruitment specialists so from now on graduates must adapt their job hunting strategy too to take in as many information sources as possible.

Survey Here