Survey figures don't add up
Graduates can be forgiven for being confused by the messages about their job prospects that they're reading in the media.
At this week's AGR conference, delegates heard that there are over 70 applicants for every job; that 78% of employers will only recruit graduates with a 2:1 or above; the number recruiting only from the Russell Group has tripled; salaries have been frozen; and the number of vacancies has fallen by 2%.
Different figures
However, last week's High Fliers Survey, which asked similar recruiters the same sorts of questions, found that:
• Britain's top graduate employers have increased their recruitment by 17.8% in 2010, following two consecutive years of declining job opportunities for university leavers. Vacancies dropped by 17.8% in 2009 and 6.7% in 2008.
• Employers in eleven of fourteen key industries and employment areas are hiring more graduates in 2010. Just two areas are taking on fewer graduates:
law firms and the public sector. Vacancies at consumer goods companies are unchanged from 2009.
• The City's top investment banks have hired a third more graduates than in 2009, having halved their recruitment over the past two years. There are also substantial increases to the graduate intake at accountancy and professional services firms (up 30.9% compared to 2009) and high street banks (up 33.2%).
• The total number of applications received by employers has increased by 7% this year and is now 15% higher than application levels in 2008. Recruiters received an average of 45 applications for each of their vacancies in 2010. There were 52 applications per vacancy in 2009.
• Competition has been toughest for graduate jobs at consumer goods manufacturers, media firms, banking and finance employers, investment banks, and oil and energy firms, where employers received at least 70 applications per graduate position.
• Graduate starting salaries at the UK's leading employers have increased significantly over the last six months as organisations compete to recruit the best graduates. The average starting salary for 2010 is now £29,000, up from £27,000 in 2009, a 7.4% increase year-on-year. Salaries rose by 5.9% in 2009 and 4.1% in 2008.
• The biggest rise in starting salaries has been at City investment banks, where graduate pay has jumped by more than 10% this year to a record high of £42,000, an increase of £4,000 on the £38,000 paid to new banking recruits in 2009.
• Looking ahead to 2011, half of leading employers believe that they will hire a similar level of graduates to this year, a fifth believe their intake will increase but a quarter warn of further reductions to their recruitment.
Conflicting messages
Add to that the fact that, only a couple of weeks ago, half of the employers surveyed by AGR for TARGETjobs Breakfast News said they still have graduate vacancies to fill, with more than 40% planning to increase their graduate intake compared with last year. This was posted on AGR's website on 21 June.
So, do things really changed that quickly? No, of course not. It depends who you ask, what you ask them, and when you ask them. But the mixed messages certainly don't help students and graduates.
AGCAS advice
Our advice to students and graduates is:
• Don't believe all you read. There are jobs out there but to be in with a chance you have to find them and apply.
• Make yourself as attractive to employers as possible by taking advantage of and making opportunities at university and outside university. Work experience, voluntary work, and involvement in student societies can give you the evidence you need to prove to employers that you have the skills they're looking for.
• Learn how to articulate what you have to offer, both in writing and verbally. Employers only know what you tell them - and the selection process will be competitive. If you don't put your case across convincingly, you could be beaten to a job by someone less well-qualified but who has written a better application or come across better at interview.
• Remember that the big recruiters you see quoted in the media are just the tip of the iceberg. The vast majority of graduates don't get jobs with these companies - and never have. Most work for smaller organisations in the private, public and not-for-proft sector. You'll need to be proactive to find the openings.
• Take advantage of the help that university careers services can give with exploring your options, decision making, increasing your attractiveness to employers, making applications and preparing for interview.
Further comment
It will be interesting to hear more from employers, government and graduates over the coming days and weeks.
Meanwhile, AGCAS members are invited to comment below.
• What do you make of the confusion?
• Is it having an affect on graduates?
• What is your own recent experience of graduate recruitment activity?
You will need to have registered with this website and signed in to add your comment and read those of other members.
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The Graduate Market in 2010 downloads
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Tags: AGR High Fliers LMI graduate recruiters graduate recruitment
Created on: 06 July 2010
Last updated: 13 July 2010