Graduate recruitment trends

The most popular roles among students were those relating to engineering. Roles relating to data, design, research and healthcare were also very popular. When asked about what support they expected from employers, training, mentorship and relocation support were the most popular answers. The results of the survey also indicate that student value having a good work-life balance, career progression and interesting work highly while they give relatively little value to job prestige.

Trends in recruitment

Talent shortage

With the unemployment rate down to about 4%, many companies are finding difficulties in recruiting the right talent. This may lead to them being more flexible with whom they hire for a role. This is a welcome change for graduates moving into the job market after the difficulties other cohorts have faced in the past few years.

Technology and Ai in recruitment

With Chat GPT bursting onto the scene in late 2022, AI and how it will shape the near future has been on everyone’s mind. Technology and AI have been influencing recruitment for longer than we might think, with applications such as resume scanning, screening software and video interviews already widely used. While it is hard to accurately predict quite how AI will shape the graduate recruitment landscape, one recent application has been ‘blind hiring’ which removes characteristics such as name and gender from an application in a bid to make the recruitment process fairer and more inclusive.

Soft skills

While technical skills are important in finding a job, a greater level of importance is being given to soft skills during the recruitment process. Skills such as communication, teamwork, creativity and time-management are key to success in the workplace. Recruiters are giving more importance to such skills, giving graduates who are able to demonstrate them a distinct advantage.

The future of remote work

Since the sudden move to working remotely in 2020, hybrid work has become part of the working landscape for many, but not all, sectors. However, with a recent push from employers to have people back in the office, the future of remote work seems uncertain. This may be of hindrance for graduates who live outside of cities and will have to face lengthy commutes or paying very high rents closer to their workplace.

According to a 2023 study by The European Central bank, the majority of people would like to work from home at least one day a week. Changes in work from home patterns are bound to be impacted by and impact the economy and labour markets. This makes the future of remote and hybrid work hard to predict.