Im Kampf um Abschlussjobs: „Wir haben die ersten, aber keine Arbeit“

I can’t access the article since it’s pay-walled, but it would be interesting to see if there’s a difference between different degree subjects.

Good job the EU is going to force us to allow their young unemployed grads to compete for UK grad jobs again!

I graduated in 2024 and it’s been rough job seeking. I got really lucky and landed a job with the police in June, still going through pre-employment checks.

I gave up on graduate roles almost immediately, no point trying to compete. I got a 2:1 law degree with no legal work experience, there are so many law grads and the no experience part is on me. Fair enough, I’ll just look for an entry level job or something.

But then the entry level jobs are also so competitive. Jobs you’d think an 18 year old straight out of A-levels could go do now ask for 1-2 years relevant experience for entry level whilst still paying minimum wage in south east England. It’s brutal but it’s an employers market so they can make ridiculous demands for minimum wage jobs. I haven’t experienced it myself, but people also often say how they’ll omit their degree off their CV for non grad roles too.

My job hunting really only started making good progress when I really focused on public sector jobs since they don’t ask for 2 years of experience for a £25k a year job.
And then the cherry on top is the fact all I have known in my adult life so far is a stagnating UK and economy. Gotta love turning 18 in 2020 lol, even in my first 2 years of uni mostly everything was shut down which really soured my uni experience :/

Thank god I got this job now, I got so lucky and I definitely won the lottery there! 10 months of job seeking finally came to an end. I empathise with all the grads that are going through this job hunting hell, it’s awful.

My attempt at entering the graduate tech job market after getting a masters:

2.1 science bsc from top 5 uni. Distinction in data science msc from top 10 uni. Years of professional experience as a science teacher. CV and cover letter approved by career services. 100+ job applications. 2 phone screening interviews. Gave up and did something else

It has been like this for the past 40 odd years..

Back in the late 80’s my cousin got 1st in Business Studies from Liverpool Uni.. It took her 3 years to get a job in her chosen field, in meantime she worked as a Usher, in various Bars, Cashier etc.. basically anything she could get.

Is it more difficult today, absolutely but getting a Degree has never been a guarantee for getting a job.

It is much more difficult today as you have x times the number of people getting Degree’s but either same or less number of jobs available.

The graduate job crisis isnt a cycle, it’s a structural collapse. AI killed the entry-level „drudge work“ that used to train grads, so the whole ladder into white collar stability is gone.

More applications, better CVs, or „quality over quantity „won’t fix it. The pipeline itself is evaporating. What we are seeing is the end of the old education → employment → middle-class circuit, not just a bad year. Ai and unit cost dominance over labour is the cause. I can’t see any solution.

Not tariffs, that pretty clearly doesn’t work and becomes reciprocal. There’s no real reciprocation scenario from on-shoring. It’s just targeting a single industry that we’re discussing namely tech.

Just re-shore. The real only winners from off-shoring are other nation CEO’s and workers. It’s causing real damage to the UK tech sector presently. Massively impacting grad opportunities and well paid workers alike.

A lot of applicants (engineering) don’t have real-world experience. I’d take an apprentice trained, time served young man or woman over an academic 9 times out of 10. One example is because when you interact with the other disciplines in your field, if you haven’t had time on the ground, it is difficult to understand and forsee problems that may arise on said ground with those other fields. I often also find they are less likely to feel like work is beneath them. Again, an example would be I once had a junior (academic, 1 year in the field) who became very upset when he was asked to terminate a PLC panel. He felt this was a technicians job and not an engineer, whilst this may be true, sometimes things just need doing, so we do them.

The other problem with applicants is that they become obsessed with extracurricular work and side projects in the field, I am really pleased you automated your dog feeder, built an ultrasonic sensor from scratch, or coded your own multiple axis 3D printer, but well-rounded candidates show that they have a good work-life balance with interesting none work related hobbies.

I hired a young lady not long ago (2:1 electical engineering) because she just wasn’t, yes, sir, no sir, three bags full sir per se. When we asked her about her extracurricular activities or any projects outside work, she told me they included an allotment, Warhammer 40k painting, and rock climbing. She showed me pictures of her allotment, models she had painted, and even places she had climbed. This is great because while her technical side wasn’t the best, it shows she can take a step away and have a life. The hobbies also demonstrate commitment, discipline, and time management.

Her soft skills were extremely good (massive bonus). Her CV was well written and almost flowed like a story of her academic / work life, not some staccato technical document. Why is this important? It showed she can convey information that is easy to digest on paper (we do ALOT of paperwork). She was at ease in the interview, even though she made mistakes with some of the technical questions. She spoke clearly and concisely with lots of eye contact.

You see, we can teach her the technical stuff. That is our job. What we require are people with something about them, not just full-on nerds. There were two of those interviewing her….