Graduate job seekers need work experience to get jobs

If you’re a graduate job seeker, you are three times more likely to get a job if you already have work experience.

According to a study by High Fliers Research, 36 per cent of job applicants who had previous career-related experience had definite job offers by March this year (2013).

The report, which looked at salary and career prospects for graduates, was based on interviews with 18,252 students from 30 universities.

Research suggests that students are starting their job search early to improve their prospects.

The report shows that 70 per cent of students started looking for jobs before starting their final study year. 

Eighty per cent had done an average six months’ worth of career-related work while studying, and 41 per cent had made job applications by October, just after starting their final year.

Students at leading universities such as Kings College London, London School of Economics and University College London have the best chances of getting jobs, suggests the report.

Of those questioned, 22 per cent had been offered jobs while 16 per cent had accepted job offers.

The managing director of High Fliers Research, Martin Birchall, said that this latest research shows that ‘work experience is no longer an optional extra for university students, it's an essential part of preparing for the graduate job market.’

He went on to say: ‘Students who just focus on their degree studies without spending time in the workplace are unlikely to develop the skills and interests that graduate employers are looking for.’ (www.independent.co.uk 13 June 2013)

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Source www.independent.co.uk

Image courtesy http://www.freedigitalphotos.net by imagerymajestic