Lies, Damned Lies and Graduate Jobs, By Mike Cressy
The graduate recruitment season peaks twice a year, in September and January, whereupon expectant finalists, like so many Dick Whittingtons, wend their way towards The City where everybody is rich and the streets are paved with gold. Unlike the traditional folk tale, however, the modern-day Dicks have no cats to sell to make their fortune. Instead, they are themselves their most valuable commodity. Graduates are becoming one of the most useful resources available to large-scale employers, who are seeking to recruit the best talent through spectacular offers of salaries and benefits. Competition for grad schemes is building along with the financial rewards, and the rigours of the application processes are becoming increasingly intense. With competing statistics available to anyone who may care to look for them, getting a place on a grad scheme can seem either like an insurmountable challenge or the natural reward for undergraduate success. But do the figures show that in years to come the ratio of graduates to graduate positions is going to become less and less favourable? And do they demonstrate that the rewards of grad schemes justify the trauma of trying to secure a position on one of them? The fact of the matter is that employers want graduates to join them, and with ample scope for gratification beyond massive remuneration graduates should consider taking them up on the offer.
Unlike universities, whose recruitment figures are constantly inflated by the hot air of political rhetoric, employers have traditionally based provision of graduate vacancies on contemporary economic conditions. The quantity of graduate jobs available will therefore never come close to matching the number of university leavers, making grad schemes notoriously difficult to access. In the 2011/2012 academic year, over 523,000 undergraduates qualified from UK universities. In the same year, employers offered just 19,350 graduate jobs, reaffirming that grad schemes are among the most competitive of post-qualification routes for new university leavers. While the figures here are almost hopelessly disproportionate, there is evidence that in the last 18 months graduate jobs are in a better position than they have been in years. It is impossible to say definitively whether recent grad scheme statistics are indicative of a general economic recovery, but it does seem at least in terms of recruitment that employers are finally managing to cultivate the commercial wilderness of 2008/2009, and that 2013/2014 is a good time to be an undergraduate finalist. The High Fliers end of year review noted that half the employers from The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers List expanded their graduate recruitment in 2013, and the CBI Accenture survey predicts that over half of graduate employers will be creating new positions in 2014. Even more encouraging is the 2013 AGR Graduate Recruitment Survey Winter Review, which demonstrated that in the 2011/2012 recruitment season starting salaries in graduate positions had grown by 4% on the previous year.
Unlike universities, whose recruitment figures are constantly inflated by the hot air of political rhetoric, employers have traditionally based provision of graduate vacancies on contemporary economic conditions. The quantity of graduate jobs available will therefore never come close to matching the number of university leavers, making grad schemes notoriously difficult to access. In the 2011/2012 academic year, over 523,000 undergraduates qualified from UK universities. In the same year, employers offered just 19,350 graduate jobs, reaffirming that grad schemes are among the most competitive of post-qualification routes for new university leavers. While the figures here are almost hopelessly disproportionate, there is evidence that in the last 18 months graduate jobs are in a better position than they have been in years. It is impossible to say definitively whether recent grad scheme statistics are indicative of a general economic recovery, but it does seem at least in terms of recruitment that employers are finally managing to cultivate the commercial wilderness of 2008/2009, and that 2013/2014 is a good time to be an undergraduate finalist. The High Fliers end of year review noted that half the employers from The Times Top 100 Graduate Employers List expanded their graduate recruitment in 2013, and the CBI Accenture survey predicts that over half of graduate employers will be creating new positions in 2014. Even more encouraging is the 2013 AGR Graduate Recruitment Survey Winter Review, which demonstrated that in the 2011/2012 recruitment season starting salaries in graduate positions had grown by 4% on the previous year.
It may well be the case that employers are having to choose between more and more graduates each year, but it is a choice they want to make
As might be expected, the majority of the data compiled by these surveys is drawn from the most popular London-based employers, and if provincial employers had been included the trends which the statistics describe would be less dramatic. But there are two main practical observations which need to be made about the data as it stands. Firstly, the starting salaries, regardless of how they compare to previous years, in the 2013/2014 recruitment season are still going to be very appealing. While average pay for new starters in most job sectors in the UK is below that of the rest of the world, according to High Fliers the median starting salary on UK graduate schemes has not dropped below £22k in the last ten years. And secondly, the figures suggest a general recruitment strategy, from across all sectors, which is preoccupied with long-term sustainability. The increase in starting salaries for graduates is in contrast with salaries for existing employees with a ‘degree or equivalent’-level qualification, which have stagnated and even decreased in the last few years. Employers seem to be looking for more sustainable solutions to recruitment by offering a higher quantity of more lucrative graduate packages each year, and thereby demonstrating their desire to attract the most promising young talent available. So, while numbers of university leavers will continue to outstrip the quantity of graduate positions available by some margin, graduates can be reassured that employers will never actively be seeking to obstruct entry onto graduate schemes. It may well be the case that employers are having to choose between more and more graduates each year, but it is a choice they want to make. Graduates are increasingly becoming one of the main resources by which big businesses are seeking to remain competitive, which means that, as a graduate, in principle big businesses want to employ you.
Clearly, though, not every finalist is equally employable for every graduate position, which is a truth that grad scheme application processes seek to recognise. Selection techniques for graduate jobs can be more comprehensive, more arduous and more tediously soul destroying than most other career options. It is difficult to find a secret formula for success in applying for them, because the application processes in their specifics vary so much. In most cases however, employers use base entry requirements, the comprehensiveness of the application process and the potential intensity of the graduate scheme to ensure that the best candidates are eventually employed.
The only two aspects of entry to any grad scheme which are absolute, the empirical standards which must be reached for consideration for a position, are degree classification and performance in reasoning tests. There are no grad schemes which require a first class undergraduate degree, but around 80% of employers ask for a 2:1 at undergraduate level for grad scheme entry. In addition, a large proportion of employers require a minimum level of performance in numerical, inductive or verbal reasoning tests. Numerical reasoning tests focus on a candidate’s ability to read and process data and statistics, with a heavy focus on calculating percentage differences. Inductive reasoning tests allow candidates to demonstrate their ability to understand relationships between concepts independent of acquired knowledge, usually by presenting them with a series of images in varying states of rotation or reflection. And verbal reasoning tests measure a candidate’s ability to process written information and draw meaning from arguments and assertions.
Degree classification and reasoning tests are then supplemented by paper applications. Many grad schemes, particularly in sectors such as engineering and industrial, or IT and telecommunications, insist on subject-specific qualifications at university level. But in other sectors it is increasingly the case that employers will accept applications from students of any discipline, so long as there is adequate demonstration of the command of transferable skills. In both instances, prospective applicants are faced with the demand for lengthy personal statements and self-justification. These paper applications are very often combined with rounds of interviews, workshops and away days which assess candidates’ abilities in areas from teamwork to the suitability of their character.
Clearly, though, not every finalist is equally employable for every graduate position, which is a truth that grad scheme application processes seek to recognise. Selection techniques for graduate jobs can be more comprehensive, more arduous and more tediously soul destroying than most other career options. It is difficult to find a secret formula for success in applying for them, because the application processes in their specifics vary so much. In most cases however, employers use base entry requirements, the comprehensiveness of the application process and the potential intensity of the graduate scheme to ensure that the best candidates are eventually employed.
The only two aspects of entry to any grad scheme which are absolute, the empirical standards which must be reached for consideration for a position, are degree classification and performance in reasoning tests. There are no grad schemes which require a first class undergraduate degree, but around 80% of employers ask for a 2:1 at undergraduate level for grad scheme entry. In addition, a large proportion of employers require a minimum level of performance in numerical, inductive or verbal reasoning tests. Numerical reasoning tests focus on a candidate’s ability to read and process data and statistics, with a heavy focus on calculating percentage differences. Inductive reasoning tests allow candidates to demonstrate their ability to understand relationships between concepts independent of acquired knowledge, usually by presenting them with a series of images in varying states of rotation or reflection. And verbal reasoning tests measure a candidate’s ability to process written information and draw meaning from arguments and assertions.
Degree classification and reasoning tests are then supplemented by paper applications. Many grad schemes, particularly in sectors such as engineering and industrial, or IT and telecommunications, insist on subject-specific qualifications at university level. But in other sectors it is increasingly the case that employers will accept applications from students of any discipline, so long as there is adequate demonstration of the command of transferable skills. In both instances, prospective applicants are faced with the demand for lengthy personal statements and self-justification. These paper applications are very often combined with rounds of interviews, workshops and away days which assess candidates’ abilities in areas from teamwork to the suitability of their character.
For all their intensity, however, employers are not looking actively to block applicants’ entry into graduate positions
And finally, the projected convoluted nature of the schemes themselves is part of the selection process. It is common for grad schemes to be composed of daunting placement rotations of varying lengths, often in different geographical locations over a period of months, or of focussed ‘on the job’ learning, which means that from day one candidates are expected to lead teams in performing actual, live projects within the company.
For all their intensity, however, employers are not looking actively to block applicants’ entry into graduate positions. Grad scheme applications should be seen as a two-way process, through which employers offer the means for applicants to demonstrate why they should be chosen ahead of other candidates. The reasoning tests, telephone interviews, skills workshops, industrial placements and project leadership roles are not there simply to put prospective employees off their application. It is not a negative process for picking off the weak, lame and disinterested. On the contrary, it is in the employer’s interest to allow you to flourish in the application process. As a graduate, employers want to draw the best out of you, and for you to show them what you have to offer them, and how your skills can be turned to a mutual advantage.
Overall, therefore, a strong case can be made for applying for graduate jobs. The pay and benefits packages alone which many employers offer are enough to excite the appetite of the majority of undergraduates, whom, having gorged for too long on out-of-date baked beans, cheap lager and the interest on student loans, are justified in wanting a taste of ‘the real world’. But finalists would also be justified, at first, in worrying about the statistical competition for finding a graduate placement. It must be remembered though, that the disproportionality in the figures is not an obstacle put there by employers, who are turning more and more to graduates to offer solutions to the problem of sustainable competitiveness. One of the largest consumer goods companies in the world, and a prolific graduate employer, Unilever, asks for its grad scheme applicants to be ‘dynamic people’ who are ambitious and keen to learn. Unilever, and other employers like them, would not sustain their success if they did not draw the best out of their employees, from the first numerical reasoning test, to the final bottom line sign off. As a graduate, you are a commodity for your own success.
For all their intensity, however, employers are not looking actively to block applicants’ entry into graduate positions. Grad scheme applications should be seen as a two-way process, through which employers offer the means for applicants to demonstrate why they should be chosen ahead of other candidates. The reasoning tests, telephone interviews, skills workshops, industrial placements and project leadership roles are not there simply to put prospective employees off their application. It is not a negative process for picking off the weak, lame and disinterested. On the contrary, it is in the employer’s interest to allow you to flourish in the application process. As a graduate, employers want to draw the best out of you, and for you to show them what you have to offer them, and how your skills can be turned to a mutual advantage.
Overall, therefore, a strong case can be made for applying for graduate jobs. The pay and benefits packages alone which many employers offer are enough to excite the appetite of the majority of undergraduates, whom, having gorged for too long on out-of-date baked beans, cheap lager and the interest on student loans, are justified in wanting a taste of ‘the real world’. But finalists would also be justified, at first, in worrying about the statistical competition for finding a graduate placement. It must be remembered though, that the disproportionality in the figures is not an obstacle put there by employers, who are turning more and more to graduates to offer solutions to the problem of sustainable competitiveness. One of the largest consumer goods companies in the world, and a prolific graduate employer, Unilever, asks for its grad scheme applicants to be ‘dynamic people’ who are ambitious and keen to learn. Unilever, and other employers like them, would not sustain their success if they did not draw the best out of their employees, from the first numerical reasoning test, to the final bottom line sign off. As a graduate, you are a commodity for your own success.