How to compete in today’s graduate job market

1. How to compete in today’s graduate job market Choosing what to study and how to add value to your degree Marc Lintern Head of Student Development & Employability These are a selection of slides from the Careers Talk, giving an overview of the graduate labour market for graduates, how to choose what to study and how to add value to your higher education experience in order to compete in the job market.

2. By 2020 there will be more graduates than there were people in the world 100 years ago Engines of Change, Chatham House Forum, 2000 As this projection illustrates, having a degree is no longer unusual. This means that the graduate job market is very competitive, with employers spoiled for choice. This means that a degree is just the starting point …

3. 1 in 12 Over the past fifty years higher education has moved from elite to mass participation. In the 1960s only around one in twelve school leavers went on to higher education …

4. 1 in7 In the 1970s this increased to one in seven school leavers going on to higher education …

5. 2in 5 Today around two in five, or forty percent, of school leavers go on to higher education …

6. 1 in2 The Government target is that 50% of school leavers will go on to higher education at some point in their future.

7. 2.1m This means that there are now around 2.1 million students in higher education and each year around half a million graduate with some form of qualification. More than 200,000 of these have a ‘first’ degree.

8. For employers, the experience of recruiting graduates can be very similar to when you or I buy a new DVD player. On the face of it they can look very similar. Employers therefore look for things which make graduates stand out.

9. “A degree is no longer a meal ticket to your future but merely a licence to hunt” Linsey Perry, Railtrack As mentioned already, this means that a degree is just the starting point and employers will be looking for things you can offer in addition which will make you stand out such as work experience, involvement in clubs and societies, participation in student competitions, voluntary experience, etc.

10. Brown & Hesketh, 2004 When employers recruit they will look at your degree, work experience and other ‘hard currencies’ on your CV as well as evidence of your soft, or ‘transferable’ skills, such as ability to work in a team, problem solving, attitude, willingness to learn and ability to lead.

11. D + E + S + A = C Put another way, getting the job or career you want (C) will be down to more than just your degree (D) , but also evidence of factors such as experience (E), skills (S) and a positive attitude (A).

12. At Hewlett-Packard, the majority of revenues come from products that did not exist a year agoFunky Business’ Ridderstrale & Nordstrom Another factor to bear in mind is the ability to keep up with change and to continue up-skilling for the workforce. Education is a lifelong experience of continuing personal and professional development.

13. Within this kind of competitive job market, the decisions we make about what to study and where are very important. The next slide asks eight questions about how you are choosing what to study in higher education and where. Think about each question honestly: where do you feel confident of yourself and where less so. It is very easy to make assumptions about what is available and what you will like. If you need advice, talk to a careers adviser about your options.

14. I have a clear understanding of what I want from my degree (or other qualification) • I know what I want to get from my higher education experience • I have a clear idea of what I want to do when I graduate • I am aware of the specific skills, qualities and experience I need to achieve my goals • I know about the full range of opportunities available to me to develop my skills • I am an effective decision maker • I have relevant experience that will impress employers or help me set up my own business • I can write effective applications which promote my strengths

15. Is it worth it?

16. The Times, April 22, 2009 Rising fees and loans make students ask whether higher education is worth it In talking about the competitiveness of the graduate job market I am not trying to deter anybody from considering higher education, just saying that it is a big decision and needs careful thought – about what you study, where and what you want to get from it. The following slides illustrate some of the advantages of higher education.

17. 87% of graduates are in employment or further study within six months of graduating (HESA) … Every year, six months after graduation, higher education institutions carry out a survey to find out what their graduates are doing. This reveals that within this short space of time the majority of graduates are either employed or in further study. You can find out more information about the ‘first’ destinations of Plymouth graduates on our website.

18. two-thirds of those in employment are in professional, associate professional or managerial jobs First destination data also reveals that within six months two-thirds of graduates are employed in ‘higher-level’ jobs. This varies by subject area and inevitably by individual students.

19. 10,000 new graduates are employed in the SW every year Many of our students are local and inevitably many want to work locally when they graduate. We have a vacancy site specifically to help students find jobs in the region called Gradsouthwest.com, advertising hundreds of south west jobs every week.

20. What do I study? Vocational Subject Non-Vocational Subject When choosing what to study, if you choose a vocational subject such as architecture or nursing you are likely to be employed in a job relating to your degree subject. If you choose a non-vocational subject such as geography or history you are less likely to be employed in a job using your subject but will find a job using your degree level skills.

21. Of 301 graduates recruited …113 humanities71 social science30 multi-disciplinary23 physical science Civil Service Fast StreamGraduate Recruitment Graduate recruiters are often less concerned with what you have studied than the fact that you have a degree and a set of skills and experience that will add value to their business. An example is the Civil Service which recruits a wide range of graduates to ‘any discipline’ roles.

22. 5 Career Tips So, what are my tips for choosing what and where to study in higher education?

23. 1 Try to set yourself a goal – what kind of job or career area do you want to get into and what kind of things are important to you for your future – work-life balance, money, travel, working on issues that are personally important to you, etc. Even if you can’t be very specific, the more of a general idea you can get the closer your choice of higher education will work for you. As a part of this, what type of higher education experience do you want? Living in the city, opportunities for work placements?

24. 2 Problem solving. Team work. Computing skills. Word processing. Time management. Project Communication Emotional skills. ‘T’ skills. Aesthetic judgement. Analytical skills. Critical thinking. Cultural Capital. Confidence. Decision-making. Decisiveness. Flexibility. Insight Persuasiveness. Self-marketing. Managerial potential. Leadership. Self-marketing. Creativity. Enthusiasm. Presentation skills. Financial analysis. Project management. Critical thinking. Languages. Bid writing. Handing difficult situations. Resolving difficult situations. Handling conflict. Customer services. Crises management. Recruitment and selection of staff. Working with other cultures and people from different backgrounds. Communicating under pressure. Physical and psychological toughness. Energy. Thinking outside of the box. Familiarity with computers. Ability to set own deadlines. Ability to manage others. Capable of demonstrating mental agility. Willing to take risks. Working to budgets. Awareness of other’s emotions. Creative thinking. New solutions to tried and tested problems. Insight into how other people approach business. Critical thinking skills. Ability to set own priorities. Monitor performance. To motivate a team of complex individuals. Confidence and self-motivation. To always be the one who comes up with new ideas, regardless of the circumstances. To be the last one standing. To lead presentations. To win new business. To expand the business. Generate new customers. Energy. Insight skills. Crisis management. Risk taking While in higher education make sure you develop a range of skills that will help you in your future career.

25. 3 McJobs™ Nowadays most students have a part time job. We advertise a wide range to help students pay their way through higher education, but also to develop skills that will help you in your future career.

26. 4 “we recruit for attitude, we train for skills” Helen Rankin, HR Director, Wrigleys A positive attitude is really important in helping you get the kind of job you want. Employers will forgive a lot of people who are keen to learn and improve from experience.

27. 5 It’s not all about what you wear, but how you present yourself to employers is important. At Plymouth we offer lots of help with preparing for interviews and writing applications – and making sure that you make the best impression you can. Most important in this is the kind of skills and experience you can include on your CV.

28. How can the University of Plymouth help? There is lots of help and advice available at the University of Plymouth. Here is a selection …

29. Our Careers Service website has lots of other information on employer events, opportunities to talk to careers advisers, entrepreneurship competitions, etc, etc. We also have a careers centre where you can drop in for advice.

30. Our Careers Service website includes course-specific careers pages with information about what jobs you can do with different subjects as well as where to find jobs using these subjects. We have sections for every subject area that Plymouth offers.

31. Every year we arrange lots of careers fairs, employers presentations and skills workshops where you can meet employers and find out about job opportunities and work placements they are offering. This includes summer jobs abroad and voluntary and part time work while a student.

32. 2,000 students volunteer each year through the Student’s Union ‘Volunteer in Plymouth’ Programme.

33. We hold enterprise competitions, such as FLUX (this is the winning team from FLUX 2009) and the Business Ideas Challenge, helping students develop their business skills and awareness.

34. Gradsouthwest is our vacancy site, advertising student and graduate jobs in the south west as well as nationally. Once registered we will email jobs to you matching your personal interests.

35. Currently more than 12,000 students undertake some form of work placement every year. Work experience is one of the key things that employers demand.

36. In addition to paid and voluntary work there are lots of opportunities to gain skills and experience outside of your academic studies, whether coaching football to school children, being a course representative, taking part in business challenges or taking on a leading role with one of our many clubs and societies. These are outlined in Career Top Tips.

37. Most importantly though, we don’t wait for students to start thinking about their career because experience tells us that for many students they will leave this until they graduate. We therefore have an employability policy which means that careers education and other related activities are included in all programmes.

38. while over the last 50 years we may have got richer, it’s claimed that we haven’t got any happier. After basic needs have been met, increases in income no longer seem to increase our happiness. The ‘paradox of prosperity’ Richard Reeves, Happy Mondays Although this session has focussed on how to be successful in the labour market and on some of the career benefits of higher education, ultimately a successful career is about doing something you enjoy and will make you happy.