So I have a degree. How can I increase my chances of employment?
The Council for Industry and Higher Education report into Graduate Employability reveals some interesting statistics: “86% of employers consider good communication skills to be important, yet many employers are dissatisfied that graduates can express themselves adequately. Soft skills such as team working are vital and even more important than most hard skills although numeracy and literacy are considered essential by 75% of employers. 65% of international employers indicate that having overseas professional work experience makes graduates more employable.”
Some of the findings of the research are quite scathing when looking at the skills graduates currently offer employers. Almost a third (30%) has problems with graduate’s generic employability skills including team working, communication and problem solving. Employers are also unhappy about graduates attitude to work (25%), self-management (33%), business awareness (44%) and foreign language skills (49%). Increasingly employers value graduates who have a global perspective. This means experience of different countries and cultures so that they can deal with overseas customers and clients day to day.
The key question for a current or recent graduate is “How do I improve my performance and make myself more employable beyond what I can offer on paper?”
We believe that related work experience is crucial but it is now not enough by itself in today’s competitive graduate job market. We also see having a degree alone as being insufficient. Graduates must also clearly demonstrate that they have used their 1000 days at University wisely.
PWC now point to the top 10 key employability skills that are essential requirements for new graduates. They challenge graduates to:
“Coach and develop yourself and others – Communicate with impact and empathy – Be curious: learn, share and innovate – Lead and contribute to team success – Build and sustain relationships – Show you have courage and integrity – Manage projects and budgets – Be open minded, practical and quick to adapt – Build and use commercial and technical know-how – Be passionate about client service.”
Finally, here are our five key tips to think about and actively work on.
- Demand feedback from employers around actual performance at work. How am I progressing? What do I need to do to reach the next level?
- Set personal and work goals and review them regularly.
- Know what your worth is. Graduate starting salaries range from £18,000 – £45,000 in some sectors. Where are you in your job market?
- Stand out from the crowd. Identify what makes you unique and play to your strengths.
- Take control of your career. It is up to you and no-one else to drive it forward.
Gateway work with new graduates and those in their first or second job to help them identify and evidence all of these, where possible, and then to build up a portfolio of achievements to support them both on a CV and at the job interview. For more information contact us at https://www.gatewaycareers.co.uk/2022, by email at info@gatewaycareers.co.uk or follow us on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/GatewayCareers