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Over a third of graduate jobs are now being given to candidates who have already had some work experience or an internship at the company. This is according to a new report on the graduate job scene which has just been released by High Fliers Research.
The report, entitled The Graduate Market in 2012, also highlights that an average of almost 50 applicants is now chasing every graduate job available at the UK’s top graduate employers.
Applications are already up by close to 20 per cent on 2011 at the 100 companies surveyed, which include the likes of Unilever, Boots, BP, IBM and Proctor & Gamble. A fifth of the graduate employers said that applications were up by over 25 per cent.
The good news is that the number of graduate jobs on offer in 2012 is expected to be up by almost 6.5 per cent on last year, taking the number of graduates who will be hired this year close to levels not seen since 2007.
Sectors that expect an increase in the number of graduate jobs they will have on offer in 2012 include IT, high street banking and engineering. The so-called “Big Four” accountancy companies of PwC, KPMG, Deloitte and Ernst & Young will have nearly 4,000 graduate vacancies on offer between them – not far short of a quarter of all expected graduate places across all sectors.
Unfortunately for any students and graduates who are lacking in the work experience department - and with a record number of graduates looking for vacancies this year - the top companies are looking for a proven track record of actual experience in the workplace, especially those who have already worked at the company itself.
In the world of investment banking, three quarters of the graduates awarded jobs had already had some form of work experience with the company.
In a blunt message to current undergraduates, Martin Birchall of High Fliers Research said: “In a highly competitive graduate job market, new graduates who have not had any work experience at all during their time at university have little hope of landing a well-paid job with a leading employer, irrespective of the academic results they achieve or the university they've attended.”
So, if you are still at university, do yourself a big favour and start looking for some work experience at the sort of companies where you hope to secure a graduate job in the future.
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