The Job Market

Each year over half a million graduates leave university and join the race to find a job.  Most will have high expectations of finding a challenging, well paid role within a large, dynamic and progressive organisation – and rightly so – this is the reward for all those years of hard work.

But big changes are underway.  There has been a massive drop in the number of graduate positions within these big companies, and the downsizing of many national corporations means that as more of you graduate each year, there is increased competition and fewer jobs available.

In fact only 1 in 20 graduates are recruited to these positions.  This means there are a large number of graduates entering the general job market , usually at the same time each year.

Large companies and the public sector are responsible for employing most graduates, but the largest growth area for opportunities is within the small and medium sized enterprises(SMEs).

SMEs can offer a graduate a real opportunity to utilise their skills in all aspects of the business and the chance for progression is often much faster than in larger companies.  They also offer a diverse range of sectors including new media, manufacturing, technology and environmental.

Other Opportunities

A positive way to approach these challenges is to consider applying to smaller organisations.  Smaller companies can provide a motivating and challenging environment and can offer a fantastic insight into what business is all about. 

Also you should have a realistic approach to starting salaries (the average starting salary for graduates across the UK is in the region of £13,954), but if you can create your own opportunities within the organisation, there are real prospects to earn good money.  Progression within a small company is usually much faster than in larger organisations.

CV Advice & Guidance

A professionally written CV and cover letter will improve your chances of securing that all important interview, yet every day we receive CVs full of spelling mistakes and grammatical errors.  To help you we have examples of a CV, covering letter and interview tips for you to download as a guide.

  CV Example (Word format)
  CV Example (PDF)

  CV Guide (Word format)
  CV Guide (PDF)

  CV Tips (PDF)

  Interview Tips (PDF)

  Covering Letter Example (Word format)
  Covering Letter Example (PDF)