Go on fess up, who’s eating all the good graduates?

[Whatsyournameandwheredyoucomefrom]

I am currently interviewing grads for an entry level role in the marketing industry and SWEETMARYANDJOSEPH it’s tough going.

I’ve been taking in cohorts of grads for 10 years and in past years they were always keen to learn, chatty, determined to show the best of themselves and keen to know more about the industry. I’ve found graduate hiring to be a really
lovely thing; starting people off on their careers is something I love to do.

This year is bloody horrendous. I’ve done 23 interviews so far (5 roles available) and bar 2, without exception there’s zero enthusiasm or ‘self selling’, it’s more like I’m asking them to do a household chore and they’re getting pocket money in return - it’s ‘well if I really must do this job, what’s in it for me’. For example today a 21 year old cut me off mid sentence as I was talking about possible career progression through the industry and said ‘yeah I’m probably not thinking about that right now, I’m just figuring out what industry I want to get into right now you know? Like what is it about XXXX (that industry I’ve been in my entire career) that you think is worth pursuing because I could do basically anything and be fine you know?’ - very nearly snapped ‘this is an interview not a careers fair’ but held my tongue. Another told me £22k was basically slavery (her exact words) and she couldn’t work for less than £30k - not even graduated yet ffs. Also, oop norf so no London premium either.

I’m not expecting gratitude for the interview, I don’t even expect them to know anything about the industry and I’ll pay them £22k for the privilege of being fairly useless for a year while they learn. They can be earning £30k in 2 years with the training they get at the early stages through this role and I’ve had some go one to £50k+ in that time and yet almost without exception, none of the grads this year have turned up to the interview with any indication that they actually want the job.

What is this?? Is someone sweeping up all the driven, good candidates and paying them megabucks? Or are universities setting mad expectations on salary and not teaching interview skills?

I’m 35 so it’s not like I’m totally out of touch and feel a bit daft saying it but is this a generational thing? Covid?? WHAT IS HAPPENING?

Well that's how it works. Most generations are actually the same, however people complain about the younger generations as it suggests that they themselves were much better at the same things and people are a bit pathetic like that. Young people are being absolutely hammered from all sides these days.

I would agree with you but the difference between our young staff 10 years ago and our young staff now is startling.
I wasn’t even thinking about myself.

I don't know about marketing, but I don't think a starting salary of £22K is that bad. DD2 is 8 months into her first job and started on that – it's quite low, but it has gone up fairly rapidly as she proved she could bring value to the role. FWIW she has a first-class MSc and is working in a field related to her degrees.

Also, just to address a point raised by a couple of PPs, it is possible that a student has studied all over the summer. DD2's Masters was a full 12 months so May through September was for writing up and finalising her dissertation, which also required further trips to the lab.

No shes not.
The average graduate salary in UK in 2022 is about £24k. In London it stretches to £28k, so £22k isn't too bad.
I think today's graduates are quite happy living off mum and dad and too lazy to get a job.

No shes not.
The average graduate salary in UK in 2022 is about £24k. In London it stretches to £28k, so £22k isn't too bad.
I think today's graduates are quite happy living off mum and dad and too lazy to get a job.

I think they're living with mum and dad because people like you think 22k "isn't too bad". They have to furnish and rent a property, pay utilities, pay council tax, feed themselves, get to work, buy appropriate clothes for work, have a social life... then try saving for a deposit on a property at the same time.

Sigh… once again… there’s no point in discussing an ‘average graduate salary’.

• Some professions pay more.


• Some have extra exams etc to pass with a guaranteed pay bump after each so the starting is irrelevant.


• Some ‘graduate jobs’ aren’t really graduate level. They just put it as a filter to reduce the number of applicants but their degree doesn’t add any value.

Even say in the North West 22K is extremely low for the ‘best’ computer science graduates. Of course there are low paid jobs but they’re going to get the mediocre.

I don’t know about marketing so I can’t comment on this. It seemed to me however like the sort of glamour field which could get away with low salaries, as people were clamouring to break in. Same with journalism,publishing etc….

We've had similar issues with recruiting graduates, and we pay decently. It's all very - what are you going to do for me ( fair enough I suppose) and I won't be here for long anyways because my mum/dad says I'm GREAT so I'll be CEO in a minute, or working FT is a waste of time so I'll be looking for an out as soon as...

They're FULL of opinions on the way the world should be without actually wanted to do anything to change the world and I've had it up to my back teeth with 21/22 year olds offering life advice when they appear to have experienced fuck all of the world! Christ though, they've certainly seen a lot on TikTok and SM and on Insta so are happy to recommend places they've never been to or cities they've never visited or experiences they've never actually tried.

Have now persuaded HR to start looking at an apprenticeship scheme that tries to get school leavers with a year or 2 work behind them into our industry instead ( we typically ONLY hire those with degrees) because at least those kids seem to have a more realistic view of the world and the world of work. i.e. they need to actually work to support themselves...

That seems like a good idea, school leavers feel they have something to prove so they are keen. Also, really do consider the return-to-workers as well, a lot of people on this forum are very well qualified but out of the workforce for a while due to caring duties etc. they might need a bit of training up but they have life experience and are keen to learn.

I feel sorry for graduates, a lot of them probably just need a bit of a break, they’ve been working towards this career since they were 5 years old often, exam pressure and pressure to get the best uni seems to have heightened. They have been told both that they can do anything, and also the economy’s screwed (since about 2008 anyways) and the best jobs are insanely competitive and still probably don’t pay enough to afford the things their parents and grandparents could afford in their 20s and early 30s- they must already feel a bit jaded.

I think if the graduates are feeling a bit jaded maybe they need to take a year out before they start their career and do something different. It's time they stopped blaming everyone else for being on the well-worn career path, they are there by choice and can depart from it at any moment. I know loads of people who traveled for a year before they started working on their careers and they didn't make a big who-ha about it - they'd just had enough for a while and came back ready to start working.