A report has found that nearly 40% of graduates are still hunting for jobs six months after leaving university, however today’s students are the savviest, best-educated generation to date, so why are so many students struggling to find work?

Lack of Experience

A lack of experience could be holding back many of Britain’s recent graduates. In most instances, experience is required to get a job after college or university, and employers are hesitant to make an offer unless you have previous experience—but what if students don’t have experience? This is a common catch for students.

While students may have spent many years studying they might not have had any experience working within an organization and this can significantly impact their chances of getting a job once they graduate. It has been reported that almost half of all graduates wished they had steered clear of academic course and had opted for ‘something more vocational’ instead. Through this route they would have gained a lot more practical experience.

It is therefore important that when applying to graduate roles you can draw on your soft-skills that you have gained from university. These include your communication and team work skills, for example. If you were a part of a society or took part in any extracurricular activities it is also important that you are able to show these in your job applications.   

For more top tips on how to apply for graduate jobs with no experience see this article.

Lack of jobs available 

An increasing number of graduates with good degrees are not getting the work their qualifications merit and more than one-in-three students are in low-skilled jobs. At a time where students are paying £9,000 a year for their undergraduate degree many are beginning to question whether it is actually worth it.
According to reports there are simply not enough quality jobs for young people leaving university, so they are being forced to take on roles which they are over qualified for.

There is much tension around the issue of student unemployment and the government are under pressure to increase the number of jobs available to the growing workforce. It is important that as a graduate you must be prepared that it may take longer than originally anticipated to land your dream job, however continue to build your network, gain experience and enhance your skills and you will get there

The student employment job search engine Jooble has thousands of job openings from popular job boards and employers, which gives students an opportunity to gain valuable work experience.