The current generation of graduates is suffering most due to minimal employment opportunities. There are steps that graduates can take to improve their suitability as candidates for work.
Increasingly, recruiters are looking for candidates to display practical workplace skills and experience that can be applied directly to a specific industry or market niche. While experience cannot be acquired at the expense of required academic qualifications, the prevailing employer mind-set provides an opportunity for students to enhance their appeal in a competitive market.
As an aspiring graduate, you must never lose sight of your academic goals and what is required to achieve them. This is why sourcing work experience can be difficult when studying, especially for those pursuing qualifications in challenging subjects such as business and finance. The summer months and the year immediately following graduation provide students with the ideal opportunity to seek out viable workplace experience, as they can focus on developing practical skills without having to carefully manage their time.
It may be worth spending some time abroad to acquire experience of the global job market, as this will afford you a unique edge over the majority of your contemporaries while also allowing you to develop maturity and a greater sense of cultural awareness. When you consider the increasingly flexible and global nature of the workplace, these attributes are likely to be in considerable demand during the next decade.
Experience gained in the non-profit sector or an entry level role that is related to your career of choice can significantly boost your appeal in the eyes of employers, primarily because they build your strength of character and reveal an innate desire to work.
A failure to appreciate the importance of workplace experience and its benefits is a significant cause for concern, while some graduates may also be carrying a sense of entitlement that prevents them from being proactive in their search for work. With vision, desire and a long-term career plan, it is possible to gain valuable workplace experience and succeed even when the job market falters.