Nflocals

The current economic situation is affecting all sectors of the employment market, from school leavers looking for entry level positions right through to established professionals with 20 or more year’s experience. The graduate market has been particularly hard hit, but there are several strategies that graduates can follow to help make themselves as attractive as possible to future employers.

 

One of the most tried and tested strategies are to get as much work experience as possible during your time at school and University. Most students manage to combine part time work through the University term with studying, and take on full time employment during the long vacations. Obviously the ideal would be to get experience in an industry in which you’re interested in making a career, but any sort of work experience will demonstrate to employers that you are reliable and hardworking. Skills like team work, time management or negotiation can be got in almost any job. The alternative to paid work is to volunteer. This is an especially good tactic for people who wish to work in medicine or in the education arena. Education recruitment is tough and employers are looking for candidates who can demonstrate a love and commitment for the subject. Volunteering with a local youth organisation such as the Scouts, or offering to do unpaid work at your local hospital, nursery, school or youth club could get you that all important reference on your CV and provide a way of differentiating you from possibly dozens of other candidates applying for the same position or training place.

 

Many students who face the prospect of graduating without a job to go to may consider staying on at University and completing a post graduate qualification. Depending on the field you wish to enter it may be wise to top up your qualifications with a further year or more at University. All Universities and colleges have a careers department who should be able to talk through your specific circumstances and advise on the best course of action to secure your future career.

 

Many big corporations do still run graduate recruitment schemes but competition is tough. Bookmark websites of companies you are interested in working for and check regularly to see whether new vacancies have been advertised. Complete applications promptly and follow basic rules such as spell checking everything and having a friend look over your CV. For graduates interested in going into teaching, there are several education recruitment events run throughout the academic year which will give you all the information you need on qualifications and further training required. Most students will require doing an additional one year post graduate study to qualify as a teacher.