GAINING A COMPETITIVE EDGE
You only have to open a paper or turn on the news to realise the that jobs market is being flooded with graduates with no jobs to go to, with more to come; an estimated 250,000 people will graduate this summer*creating even more barriers to entering the most popular careers.
Nader Bawany, founder of the Fairway Future Proof Programme – a unique support service for job- hunters – explains that students must now present themselves as the ‘complete package’
“As every student in the country will be all too aware once upon a time a degree was a sought-after commodity, allowing the best and brightest to walk into a well-paid role in a sector of their choice. Nowadays the reality is that increased graduate levels means more available talent, coupled with severe job cuts in many sectors, is creating a situation where young people are finding more and more barriers to entry when it comes to their dream career.
“Take for example the finance and banking sector. Almost 200 thousand experienced staff have been laid off since 2008, while only 24,000 new roles have been created, according to the CIPD. These alarming statistics highlight
a huge deficit of roles as well as a considerable pool of experienced staff to compete against. “The fierce competitiveness of the current jobs market means that students must become well- rounded and represent themselves to potential employers as work place-ready, and equipped to hit the ground running.
“This means graduates must look beyond the academic knowledge university gives them and consider
how vital ‘soft skills’ can be acquired, such as negotiation and networking skills as well as sometimes even basic CV writing. In my experience, it really is the exception rather than the rule, even in this day and age, to see a graduate CV that demonstrates an understanding of what an employer wants.
“It’s a tough time for anyone hunting for a job right now, and it’s hard to accept as a graduate that
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