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Why 48% of Graduates Never Get Graduate-level Jobs

GRADUATE JOBS

AUG 12, 2023

It’s a sad fact that 48% of graduates wind up doing dead-end, non-graduate-level jobs.

Not because they didn’t work hard. Not because they didn’t get a decent degree. But because of five vital factors that scuppered their chances of achieving graduate-level employment.

Here are the seven factors that hold graduates back.

1: Woeful Careers Guidance

Universities and colleges teach students everything except how to get a job.

When career advice is offered it usually proves to be woefully inadequate. No wonder, then, that 85% of students don’t bother with their careers advice centre at university. They muddle through themselves.

How Graduate Coach helps students to overcome this

Here at Graduate Coach, we have helped over 5000 students and graduates to get graduate-level jobs.

We offer expert career guidance and coaching to help graduates to excel at every stage of the job application process. We turn degrees into careers.

2: Lack of Work Experience

Only 15% of graduate-level jobs are directly related to the subject that has been studied. Doctors, vets and engineers are examples of careers that are preceded by relevant studies. But the remaining 85% of students will study subjects that bear no relationship to the careers they will eventually follow.

No wonder almost four-fifths of employers value work experience over a degree. A new employee with work experience will slot more effortlessly into the workplace, without an employer having to spend time and money helping them do so.

So, while working for their degree, students should also work for a company, organisation, or charity. As well as these, joining university sports teams and societies are also experiences that count favourably with employers.

How Graduate Coach helps students to overcome this

On our full career coaching programme, we offer our students and graduates internships in Digital Marketing or Data Analytics. This hands-on experience helps candidates to develop their skills, enhance their CVs and improve their employability.

3: Not a Clue what to do after University

At Graduate Coach we have guided 5000 graduates to career success. Of these 5000, only 15 knew what they wanted to do. Not surprising when you consider the sheer variety of jobs on offer.

So it’s important for a graduate to understand what sort of job will suit them. Most don’t. This is why discovering this vital knowledge is a crucial part of the Graduate Coach training programme.

How Graduate Coach helps students to overcome this

In our career coaching programme, we help students to understand their skill sets and identify their interests. We then help them to match their skills and attributes to suitable careers that are in demand. Empowered by knowing the jobs that are right for them, our graduates are then supported as they tailor their CVs and prepare for interviews.

4: Brutal Competition for Jobs

There is fierce competition for entry-level roles. Blue Chip firms such as those that feature in the Financial Times’ top 100 are likely to receive 50,000 applications for just 50 jobs. However, most of these companies offer summer internships, allowing them to monitor a graduate’s progress and assess their suitability for permanent employment. Nine-tenths of all those hired by major law firms, banks, retailers and consumer goods companies such as Procter and Gamble and Unilever, find employment this way. Thus, students who fail to take up internships are greatly disadvantaged when they apply for jobs.

How Graduate Coach helps students to overcome this

The students and graduates that we coach have a competitive advantage in the job market. This is due to having a top-notch CV, being interview confident and having great work experience.

5: Terrible CVs

Most graduates haven’t the faintest idea of how to write a decent CV. Every employer and every recruiter we talk to at Graduate Coach echoes this observation. They are distressed by the awful state of the vast majority of graduates’ CVs. So little wonder that most CVs don’t lead to an interview.

One of the most critical aspects of our training at Graduate Coach is fine-tuning graduates’ CVs, tailoring them to the relevant industry, and making them employer-friendly.

6: Unpreparedness for Online Tests

More and more companies are adopting online tests to weed out weak candidates before the interview stage. Some graduates fly through these tests. Many don’t. They are totally unprepared for the battery of questions they will face and the speed with which they will be expected to answer. Thus, a candidate who may be otherwise promising can be eliminated simply be- cause he or she is not adept at taking an online test.

Practice at dealing with these is becoming an increasing part of Graduate Coach’s remit.

7: Nowhere Near Enough Preparation for Interviews.

Recent research says that graduates spend an average of only 36 minutes preparing for an interview. This is not nearly enough.

An interview is a meeting that handled well can have a profoundly beneficial effect on the whole of a graduate’s life. And, like every important event, to run smoothly, it requires rehearsal, lots of it. An actor wouldn’t appear on stage without thoroughly rehearsing his part. A great athlete doesn’t win medals without devoting many months to practice. And a graduate will never land a graduate-level job without relentless and thorough preparation.

How Graduate Coach helps students to overcome this

Interview coaching helps graduates to stand out in a competitive job market and gain lifelong skills.

We offer 1-2-1 interview coaching sessions for graduates designed to teach you the art and the science behind presenting yourself and passing interviews.

Conclusion

In today’s competitive job market, the team here at Graduate Coach play a vital role in empowering graduates to overcome numerous obstacles inhibiting their job search and transition into fulfilling graduate-level careers.

By providing tailored support and comprehensive coaching, we transform degrees into successful and rewarding careers, ultimately paving the way for a brighter future for graduates across various industries.

Featured image by Karolina Grabowska from Pexels