The chances of landing a graduate job since the recession? ONE in 270 30 June 2010
Laura Clark (about the author)

Up to 270 graduates are battling for every job vacancy after the recession triggered an unprecedented scramble, a study has shown.

Applications for graduate posts have hit a record high this year as rejected candidates from 2008 and 2009 swell the ranks of job-seekers.

Many firms have faced a recruitment squeeze over the last two years, making it harder for those who had just finished university to find work.

Employers have created 17.9 per cent more vacancies in 2010, but many have already closed recruitment for entry-level roles starting this autumn after receiving 7 per cent more applications than last year. They are receiving 45 applications for each position on average, rising to 270 in some industries.

Roles in consumer goods firms such as Unilever and Procter and Gamble, which offer relatively few jobs but lucrative starting salaries, have 270.2 applicants chasing each vacancy.

Avoid debt

Steven Jackson of Beatmydebt.com is not surprised by the findings and urged university students to keep control of their finances while studying. "Very often university students do not worry enough about what they are spending because they believe they will be able to pay their debt off easily when they graduate and find a job. However, the (job) market is extremely tough at the moment and even if you are lucky enough to land a place paying off your debt is not going to be easy" he warned.

"Although it sounds boring, students are well advised to live with a sensible budget and try not to get too deeply into debt as this will act like a millstone round their necks for many years to come" Jackson added.

The study, by High Fliers Research, looked at the 100 firms rated by graduates as the top employers in the country. It found that the odds of landing a job have narrowed to 45 applications per place on average from 52 in 2009.

But competition is fiercer than before the recession - 35 graduates chased each position in 2008. Media jobs have 106.4 applications per place, while banking and finance have 74.4. Accountancy and professional services firms have the least applications per job, with 15.

Fewer public sector jobs

Only two groups of employers are offering fewer vacancies this year - law firms and the public sector. But the public sector was unique among industries in increasing recruitment during the recession, taking on 44.6 per cent more graduates.

The study concluded that the continuing expansion of higher education was also behind the intense rivalry for jobs at leading firms.
Universities turned out 50,000 more graduates this summer than three years ago.

Hana Sysalova, 25, left London Metropolitan University last summer with a first-class degree in psychology. She had also undertaken voluntary work in related fields for eight years, but after submitting dozens of applications she landed just a handful of interviews, only to be told she needed more experience.

Miss Sysalova, of Kenton, North-West London, found a job in a school in January but will leave in August to concentrate on her goal of landing a research role, and has more voluntary work lined up.

She is also considering travelling to Canada to study for a higher degree after finding the costs in the UK extortionate. 'Many of my friends work in bars and shops, alongside people who didn't go to university,' she said. 'It's really difficult for all of us. We can't do what we want to do.'

Martin Birchall, director of High Fliers Research, said: 'University leavers from the Class of 2010 are still facing huge competition to land a good graduate job this summer.

'Employers have already received an unprecedented number of applications this year for their graduate vacancies and many organisations have now filled all their places for 2010 or have closed off their applications early.'