It's true, even though graduates have spent so much time studying for their graduate position, they're still not going to get very far when it comes to applying for it if they don’t have some kind of work experience - even if it's only having a summer job.
This is according to High Fliers Market Research, a review of starting salaries and graduate vacancies at the UK's top employers, where 50% of employers interviewed stated that without any kind of work experience, graduates would struggle to find employment after university. This, says Higher Education Careers Service Unit Deputy Research Director Charlie Ball, “is a timely reminder to students that they need to have something more than academia on their CVs to stand a good chance of a job on graduation.”
The survey showed just how important any extra work experience can be to graduates at both submission of CV and interview stages.
Business Services Manager at Graduate Prospects, Chris Rea, says: “Employers are demanding more from new recruits and employability skills are at the top of their list.“With a few exceptions the class type or degree is not their main consideration, as they look for evidence of aptitude in teamwork, communication, flexibility, initiative and problem solving.“All types of work experience – from a structured internship to casual work – will help you demonstrate these types of skills to a potential employer.”
However, the more related that work experience is, the more likely employers are going to pay closer attention to the CV they receive in response to an advertised vacancy.A few weeks of mundane shelf-stacking could well demonstrate a certain amount of employability skills on the part of the graduate. But it would come as no surprise if that CV was not rejected in favour of one from somebody who had received exactly the right kind of training, and who had precisely the work experience required for the position during their apprenticeship.
