What do Graduates want to do?

Following a recent graduate survey by Totaljobs.com (which compared both graduates and current undergraduates), nearly half of both groups were non-specific when asked which sector they would like to work in after university. Just under half of graduates, and just over half of undergraduates, were looking to enter the job market with an “open mind”.

According to the executive summary from TotalJobs.com public sector jobs have been seen by many to be more of a ‘safe bet’ than jobs in the private sector, especially during an economic downturn, but with the austerity measures and cuts proposed by the coalition government mean this is increasingly becoming a fallacy.

The survey asked these job seekers thought about the potential of working in the public sector.

When questioned specifically about work in the public sector and what would attract them the most, graduates and undergraduates differed in their leading answer. Most graduates were attracted to the public sector by the potential career prospects (again, possibly the result of a perception that the public sector is more stable than the private sector during a recession), whereas most undergraduates would be persuaded to enter the public sector due to the training opportunities available. These days graduates are aware that transferable skills are a must on a job seeker’s CV, so the training in the public sector offer a distinct advantage.

While each group diverged when asked about their initial attraction to the public sector, when asked about which specific area of the public sector attracted them the most, a majority of both graduates and existing students came back with the same answer: 52% of graduates and 55% of undergraduates were interested by opportunities in education. This will no doubt come as music to the ears of Local Education Authorities amid news reports of a nationwide shortage of teachers and falling standards in schools across the UK.

But what about the private sector? As well as escaping the dreaded government cuts, private sector jobs often offer greater financial rewards and incentives, as well as a wider variety of roles in a wider variety of companies for prospective employees. When questioned about working in the private sector, the graduates and undergraduates in our survey both said that securing a graduate-specific role was at the forefront of their minds.

In summary they suggest that even with the current cuts, the public sector is seen as offering a varied and exciting range of graduate jobs  and soon-to-be graduates, and while the financial rewards are not always as enticing as those offered by the private sector, there are numerous perks, like flexible working hours, job stability, and fantastic training on offer, along with some of the safest pensions in the job market.

If you’d like a copy of this report just drop me a note and I’ll put you in touch with my contact at TotalJobs.

By the way I’m going to be writing something next week about the superb project Peter Gold and Bill Boorman are working on to match graduates up with recruitment mentors.