Graduate schemes and resources to help find graduate jobs

Articles on this page look at graduate job prospects for the class of 2012. Following that we explain the graduate job 'Milkround' process, with some helpful tips along the way. Following this we look at interview skills and CVs. Finishing off the career section is a list of links to graduate jobs and career websites which contain both current job listings and advice on finding a graduate job after graduation.

Prospects for the graduate job market in 2012

According to the latest survey on the graduate jobs market, conducted by High Fliers Research during December 2011, prospects for graduate employment will continue to improve in 2012. The UK's leading employers are expecting to increase their graduate recruitment by 6.4% in 2012 (following a rise of 2.8% during 2011)..

The leading accountancy & professional services firms are intending to hire almost 10% more graduates than in 2010, an increase of more than 350 trainees year-on-year. There will also be substantial increases to the graduate intake at the City's top investment banks (up 12.2% compared to 2010) and the high street banks (up 24.8%). Employers in thirteen of fourteen key industries and employment areas expect to recruit more graduates in 2011. However, recruitment targets at several public sector employers have already been reduced and further cuts are expected later in the year.

The top five largest recruiters of graduates in 2011 will be: PricewaterhouseCoopers (1,200 vacancies), Deloitte (1,000 vacancies), KPMG (900 vacancies), Teach First (780 vacancies) and Ernst & Young (740 vacancies).

By industry or business sector the top five largest number of vacancies in 2011 are expected to be in: Accounting & professional services (4,106), Banking & finance (4,065), Public sector (1,834), Armed Forces (1,625) and Retail (1,212).

By region again London is the magnet for graduate vacancies with 86% of employers having vacancies there, however over 50% of employers also have vacancies in the North West, The Midlands, South East, South West and Yorkshire, with 49% in Scotland and 48% in the North East.

By job function the most common requirement is for Finance (69% of employers with vacancies) and IT (55%), followed by Engineering (38%), Human Resources (38%), General Management (37%) and Marketing (34%).

The top five universities most-often targeted by Britain's top graduate employers in 2010 were Cambridge, Warwick, Manchester, London (including Imperial College, University College and the London School of Economics) and Oxford. The majority of employers have been actively marketing their 2011 graduate vacancies at between 10 and 20 universities in the UK, using a variety of university careers fairs, campus recruitment presentations and local advertising.

Starting salaries at the UK's leading graduate employers in 2011 are expected to remain unchanged from 2010 levels - a median of £29,000. Salaries increased by 7.4% in 2010 and 5.9% in 2009. The most generous salaries are those on offer from investment banks (average of £42,000), law firms (average of  £38,000) and oil & energy companies (average of £32,000). Public sector employers (average of £22,200) and retailers (average of  £24,000) have the lowest graduate pay rates for 2011. With the exception perhaps being the Aldi graduate scheme which pays graduates training to become area managers a first-year salary of £40,000.

Half of employers said they had received more completed graduate job applications during the early part of the recruitment season than they had last year - in part due to several organisations opening up their applications earlier than usual  - in June or July, rather than September or October - and that this had contributed to a much higher volume of early applications from students and recent graduates. On average, employers received 45 applications per graduate vacancy in 2010.

One trend to pick out of this survey is the importance of students gaining work experience, vacation work or industrial placements during their time at university in order to boost their chances of being successful in gaining a place on a graduate scheme. Nearly two-thirds of recruiters warn that graduates who have had no previous work experience at all are unlikely to be successful during the selection process and have little or no chance of receiving a job offer for their organisations' graduate programmes. Further recruiters have confirmed that a third of this year's entry-level positions are expected to be filled by graduates who have already worked for their organisations  - either through industrial placements, vacation work or sponsorships  - and therefore are not open to other students from the  ˜Class of 2011'. Almost all of the UK's leading graduate employers are offering work experience programmes for students and recent graduates during the 2010-2011 academic year - a total of 10,665 places are available. Three-fifths of employers are providing industrial placements for undergraduates (typically for 6-12 months as part of a four year degree course) or vacation work lasting more than three weeks. For listings of student summer jobs please refer to our Gap Year page.

The process of applying to graduate schemes, 'The Milkround'

The graduate job search begins at university
Often the reason students choose to continue their studies at university is to enhance their job prospects. Graduate job hunting can be a time consuming and frustrating process, it can take up valuable time away from your academic and social responsibilities. However if you follow a number of steps, you can make this daunting process easier.

But which graduate career path is suited to me?
Many students are unsure of what type of job they want to pursue upon graduation. If you find yourself in this position then chatting to friends, relatives and careers advisors may give you some ideas on careers may be suited to you. Work shadowing, although frequently unpaid, is an ideal way of finding out whether a particular role would suit you. For most students, their university careers service should be the first place to visit for help in finding information, the magazine-style publications which they should have in stock list the big graduate employers and what each position would involve. To start researching online try the careers advice section of Targetjobs.co.uk.

Student summer internships, work experience or volunteering all help...
If possible, organising an internship, some form of work experience, temping or volunteering is a very useful way to enhance your employment potential. Internships are offered by many large graduate recruiters and normally run as 6-12 week summer placements. They are frequently well paid too, however competition for the small number of places available is fierce. Start thinking about applying to these positions in January of your penultimate year. Aside from work experience, graduate employers look for other skills which include examples where you have demonstrated key skills in leadership, teamwork, problem-solving and communication. Ensure you have a pre-prepared example for each of these situations. Involvement in university societies or sports teams is often a way of developing such skills, however you can also include skills developed whilst at school - such as on the Young Enterprise or Duke of Edinburgh scheme.

What if I want to take a gap year?
You may wish to put off finding a graduate job until after you graduate, perhaps you wish to take a break after uni and chill out by travelling for a year. However, remember that many employers are perfectly happy to accept applications from students who wish to defer their employment start date until 6 months to a year after graduation. By finding a job before you leave uni you will have the advantage of taking part in the milkround process, as well as having university careers services at your immediate disposal. And of course you can go away with the satisfying feeling that you have a job to come back to. If you don't manage to arrange anything by graduation then don't worry as nearly all graduate recruiters accept applications from graduates - provided they apply within two years of graduation. By taking part in widespread travelling or voluntary work you may also be able to enhance your CV for when you return to the UK, believe it or not gap year travel can be seen as a strength to potential recruiters as it can demonstrate confidence, the ability to think on your feet and a more rounded rested individual hungry to pay off some debt and get working - particularly if you've been to some more 'challenging' destinations than the standard Thailand to Australia route. I've had this specific feedback from more than one employer. For more advice on gap years visit our Gap Year page.

When to apply to a graduate scheme?
So what should you do if you want to apply for a graduate scheme whilst in your final year? Well, it is important to start thinking and planning early. At the start of your final year you should be perfecting your CV, through consultation with a careers advisor, and preparing answers to application forms - whilst many of which ask very similar questions try and tailor answers to the specific organisation you are applying to. Again through consultation with the graduate careers office look out for any graduate recruiters visiting campus to conduct presentations. These can be useful for finding out more about the company, what they're looking for, and to speak to recent graduates who work their to find out of if the roles available are suited to you. From November many large graduate recruiters will start accepting and reviewing applications, they may even offer initial interviews or tests towards the end of this month. So identify which firms you would like to apply to and get your application form sent off as early as possible. Deadlines for applications start approaching towards the end of December, but many extend into the Spring months. If your application is successful you will be invited to an initial interview which may involve some tests, if successful at this stage this interview will be followed by an assessment centre - following which offers of employment are made. The following points describe and give advice for each stage of the recruitment process:

The graduate scheme application form
This is frequently regarded as the toughest stage of the recruitment process, as it is where the majority of applicants are filtered out. If you are invited to interview following your application form then the chances are you meet the requirements which the firm is looking for, that's the biggest hurdle overcome. Ensure you are able to offer plenty of different examples of where you have worked in a team, solved a problem, arranged an event etc. Although you may be able to modify your experiences slightly to match the questions, it is important that you do not lie at this stage. Initial interviews are frequently based on your application form - and interviewers will see through any gaps in your record. Many application forms are internet based now, this should make things quicker and easier for you as you can copy and paste pre-prepared answers onto the form. These are also an advantage if you have bad handwriting! A large part of the application form is simply filled up with your contact details and academic record. Ensure that you can offer sound and honest answers to questions such as why would you like to work for...? The company/organisation's website usually provides a wealth of information for this stage. Plus run a search on Google news to see the latest events and issues affecting the company/organisation and its sector.

Don't expect to get many interviews following the completion of just a few application forms. There are a large number of students chasing these jobs so you will need to apply to around 10, 20 or even 30 companies to dramatically improve your chances of employment. Don't be disillushioned if you receive early rejection letters at this stage, different employers look for different attributes, so keep trying!

The inital graduate interview
Congratulations, you've secured your first interview. This may be the first proper interview you've had so two things are crucial at this stage - preparation and practice. Sign-up for practice interviews at your university careers service, or ask a friend or relative to put you on the spot with some questions. It is very important that you research and prepare for an interview. Interviewers are particularly impressed if you ask a question or mention something concerning a recent topical development within the company or industry. Read newspapers and scour the internet and company website to ensure you can do this. You will find that the first round interview questions are fairly predictable and carry on the theme of the application form asking more tedious give me an example of an occasion when you... type questions. However not all interviews are that predictable - don't be put off by spontanious questions - one interviewer asked me What was the last book you read? which caught me rather off-guard. Another interview just asked me to recall my personal development since secondary school, a nice opportunity to reminisce for half an hour! Spotting that he was captain of his college football team, one of my friends was asked by an interviewer: What are your opinions on the 4-4-2 or wing-back formation? Ultimately interviewers are just after an insight on your personality, your application form has proved you have the background they are looking for, so to be successful at this stage just be yourself, and try and remain cool, collected and confident.

You're Hired! Psychometric Tests: Proven Tactics to Help You Pass "Worried about sitting a psychometric test in your job interview? Becoming increasingly more common as part of the recruitment process, psychometric tests are used to distinguish the top candidates for a job. You're Hired! Psychometric Tests is written by psychologists who specialise in careers and the recruitment process. They explain exactly what psychometric tests are used for and how you can tackle them successfully. Packed with practice questions and sample tests alongside specialist advice this book will equip you to handle any test thrown in your direction with confidence and ease. Whether you're a first or second jobber, career-changer or coming back into work after a career break, don't underestimate how important practicing for your psychometric test is. The You're Hired! career series shows job hunters of all levels how to research, apply for and land the job of their dreams."

Graduate testing sessions
Some internet application forms now integrate initial personality or numeracy tests, however often these will be conducted on-campus or at your first interview. The most common test is of a numeracy kind, the main areas they look for are your ability to interpret information regarding percentages and ratios - nothing more complex than that is required. The next popular type of test is Verbal Reasoning. These cannot be prepared for and just require you to interpret a number of short statements, with practice your speed at doing these tests should improve. Another type of test is a Personality or Psychometric test. These ask you to rate a number of statements on how important you rate each issue. Key things to remember here are: don't try and 'guess' what the employer is looking for and be consistent with your answers - as frequently the statements are re-worded and repeated. As with all types of tests, try and work quickly and skip out any questions you get stuck on. Don't worry if you don't finish the test - frequently they are designed so you won't.

The graduate assessment centre
This is often the final stage of the graduate recruitment process, if you have got this far then you are very close to receiving a job offer. This normally involves a whole day of activities, with breaks between them. It may require an overnight stay at a hotel and an evening meal the night before. When you get down to business the activities are likely to revolve around group problem solving work, individual interviews or presentations. Any group work will be assessed, so your participation in the activities is important - don't drown others out or don't be too quiet. Overall, enjoy the experience, learn from the feedback if you are not successful and remember that you are not being judged alongside the other candidates, but against a set of criteria the employer is looking for. GOOD LUCK!