Page 14 | Another path to greatness - part III

Original poster

chopc · 30/03/2021 07:57

By that I meant a self motivated and driven student with parents like you will be able to create their own graduate prospects

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goodbyestranger · 30/03/2021 08:52

I know of several Oxbridge graduates who can't get jobs at the moment!

This has no bearing on how employers view Oxbridge degrees and everything to do with the impact of the pandemic. Graduates from all universities are having a shockingly difficult time.

IrmaFayLear · 30/03/2021 09:12

Ds and nearly all of his friends from top universities are still kicking about at home. The only ones suited are those doing MAs and one doing chartered accountancy, who wants to chuck it in because he's been told it's working from home forever. The quid pro quo for a dull training is the social side and getting out and about to different clients. He did not sign up to be stuck in his bedroom day in day out and never see a soul.

bendmeoverbackwards · 30/03/2021 12:35

@chopc

DS had gotten an offer from LSE. Apparently I wasn't at home when he received it then he forgot about it ........

Great news *@chopc* so nice to read positive news on this thread, well done to your ds.

Original poster

chopc · 30/03/2021 14:27

Thank you @bendmeoverbackwards . Hope DD is feeling better today?

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MrsIsobelCrawley · 30/03/2021 15:28

Graduate recruitment in investment banking, consulting firms, law firms, etc. seems to be particularly bad at the moment.

Original poster

chopc · 30/03/2021 16:43

@MrsIsobelCrawley when you say it's bad do you mean it's on hold or?

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Bigfatsquirrel · 30/03/2021 16:55

I think graduate recruitment is bad for every sector - it’s not limited to the sectors that @MrsIsobelCrawley outlined.

Read the Highfliers annual summary of the Top 100 employers graduate recruitment plans.
www.highfliers.co.uk/download/2021/graduate_market/GM21-Report.pdf

IrmaFayLear · 30/03/2021 18:04

I know two graduates whose graduate training schemes were postponed, postponed again,. and then axed. In one case they said that there were no plans to reinstate the usual programme because in future their staff would be wfh. I suppose it’s a chance for firms to reassess their requirements and maybe expensive training programmes are deemed unnecessary. Or perhaps they are just making staff savings for a year or so by freezing recruitment.

Original poster

chopc · 30/03/2021 18:40

It is tough for graduates last year and this year. I feel for them more than I do for our year 13's and I feel so bad for them

Although the numbers are down, some graduates must have gotten jobs? And the target universities discussed on this forum are featured there

So I wonder what made some graduates stand out from others? Luck? Or something else?

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Xenia · 30/03/2021 19:13

My twins graduated last summer (and are doing a law conversion course). One of their friends got a job at a leading accountancy firm - not sure why he got in. Another who is a maths type genius kind got a job he really wanted after about 4 months of interviewing all over the place as a quant I think it is in an investment firm. Some were on 4 year degrees and my son's flatmate is doing a masters this year. One is looking for a job after her summer tutoring job in Italy for a family there which ended around September time.

it is nothing like as bad as when I graduated in 1982 however. Unemployment is much lower than then when in 1982 we had the largest number out of work for fifty years and I had to apply to 139 London firms and have 25 in terviews in London before getting a first job. Also some law firms are busy. i was talking to my daughter yesterday and they are rushed off their feet with lending, CV loans, restructuring, all sorts and her other half in a banker and they have been extremely busy and doctors of course are very busy so it is quite a mixed picture.

However it is definitely weird to start a first graduate job from your parents' house online. I was quite shy at that age so I would probably have loved it actually but it is certainly nothing like the real thing and I am not sure you learn as much either.

chitchattery · 30/03/2021 19:48

DD should have graduated from Cambridge last year and had a grad job to start in August. They cancelled it in May and so she quickly signed up to stay for the fourth year. The company have now come back and re-offered her the job to start after the Masters. I am so pleased for her as it looks so hard for them this year and I wasn’t looking forward to all the applications stress again. She knows she is very lucky.

MidLifeCrisis007 · 30/03/2021 20:33

Thank you for that link @Bigfatsquirrel. That's a very interesting report.

Original poster

chopc · 31/03/2021 08:13

What was also interesting in the report is that the target universities have not changed that much over the years? Although the rankings may have but they universities mentioned here still make the top 20.

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PresentingPercy · 31/03/2021 12:50

No - the universities have not changed much. I think a few of us on here have always banged on about how institution matters. Far less matters about the nuances of the niche course you want to do and that fab professor you really must listen to. In the real jobs market, they simply do not matter.

The key to getting a job is rarely just the course you do though. It is the soft skills you bring with it and hopefully some decent work experience or volunteering. Too many young people utterly neglect this and believe the degree is everything. It often is not. Sometimes it can be but no-one should assume this. Travelling and having a nice time is often discounted by employers. Organising something (eg at university) leadership, working with others, being punctual and holding down a job all add up.

I think the future is pretty grim for a number of years. All the masters students will be looking for jobs. The apprenticeship numbers have dipped damatically. Employment in traditional trustowrthy sectors is low. There will be several years worth of grads going for jobs. It is best to ensure DC do more than a degree if they want to stand out and have a decent cv.

Vargas · 31/03/2021 14:49

One of DH's mates does a lot of grad recruitment in the commercial property sector. Most of the applicants have degrees from the top universities. The ones that stand out don't necessarily have first class degrees but they do tend to have worked in 'real' jobs, often completely unrelated to the sector. So shelf stacking at a supermarket or working in a pub counts for a lot, as does Gold DofE apparently. Anything that shows they can work hard.

Original poster

chopc · 31/03/2021 15:14

Right - I have been trying to drum this into my DS and I believe it has finally sunk in (about getting some work this summer if possible)

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Oldowl · 31/03/2021 15:44

@Vargas

One of DH's mates does a lot of grad recruitment in the commercial property sector. Most of the applicants have degrees from the top universities. The ones that stand out don't necessarily have first class degrees but they do tend to have worked in 'real' jobs, often completely unrelated to the sector. So shelf stacking at a supermarket or working in a pub counts for a lot, as does Gold DofE apparently. Anything that shows they can work hard.

DD is working as a vaccinator alongside doing her Geography degree. Never really thought it might help her get a graduate job!

She has vaccinated over 1000 people now and it has made her realise that she definitely wants a job working with people.

Original poster

chopc · 31/03/2021 15:57

@Oldowl that's amazing! That takes real dedication as it's tedious work!

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Vargas · 31/03/2021 16:22

@oldowl - that's fantastic, it will definitely help her get any kind of job. If I was hiring she would go right to the top of the heap!

I really hope my ds tries to get some proper work over the summer holidays...

Longtimenewsee · 31/03/2021 16:46

Am hoping Dd can some sort of summer job too.I am also hoping that she can get to a gig .. and a party .. and a trip away with friends . They have missed out on rather a lot. I hope they can do a bit with friends before they all go away to uni

SeasonFinale · 31/03/2021 16:59

DS has worked as a lifeguard since he qualified the week after his 16th birthday. During lockdown he has also been working for Deliveroo on his bike (whilst furloughed by DL). He certainly has the work ethic. Mainly because he wants to fund his festivals, vintage clothes fetish and current travels!

Oldowl · 31/03/2021 17:29

[quote chopc]@Oldowl that's amazing! That takes real dedication as it's tedious work!

[/quote]
If you think vaccinating is tedious, DS has spent most of his gap year working 13 hour shifts in a Covid test centre.

Yesterday he was handing out LFTs from 7.30am to 8.30pm and trying to find things to do. Thankfully the test centres are no longer busy, however if we get another wave...

He is so looking forward to starting at university in September. DD spent her gap year travelling the world, DS has travelled as far as our local park and ride!! (Luckily, both have a good work ethic and these experiences will stand them in good stead).

quest1on · 31/03/2021 18:56

Hi everyone. Well, school has broken up and there’s six of them in the back garden for the first time in ages. DS is now 4 exams down, and 6 to go after Easter. School finishes at the May half-term, so a long summer ahead.

Still no news here from LSE and tomorrow is the last day before they close for Easter for a week . To be honest, it’s dragged on so long now I’m finding I’m getting to the point where I’m past caring. And there’s talk that they will extent their 16th April deadline now. I just can’t imagine what it is they’re actually doing?

Any news from anywhere else?

quest1on · 31/03/2021 18:58

Oldowl - very industrious DC you have there.