Would you reject a Graduate Job at a corporate firm because £24k was the basic salary?
It is surprising how many graduates are turning down offers because the basic salaries are too low (or not high enough to keep them in their relatively lavish parent funded lifestyle) and instead going on gap years or simply continuing their job search. Maybe they are not aware that we are amid a pretty tough recession and millions are unemployed. Maybe they chose to watch Sweet 16 on VIVA to get ideas for their next birthday party, rather than watching the news. Either this or maybe their parents are still bankrolling them and a graduate job is really not top priority.

You see the problem is that student night at ChinaWhite is on a Wednesday, or at least it was once, back in the day. Now this causes a big dilemma. They wouldn’t be able to party there if it weren’t a student night. For most, their pocket money won’t stretch far when confronted with cocktails starting at £20 and a club full of students with similar cash issues. Yes there are obviously a few caveats to this shortage of cash, but I am talking about the typical student, rather than the cohort that jet over under the title 'foreign students'. This bunch are notorious for partying in un-student-y ways and are the exception to the rule. Another magnum please sir! Nevertheless, it seems graduates are stuck in the their ways. They find it hard to move on from the affordable and silly students days into real life.

But partying is more fun than working. Depending on who you are and naturally your gender you will probably be bought drinks by an open-shirted, slightly slimy gentleman. He will have a business card and can explain what a mezzanine loan is and this will be enough to impress you. If you are lucky he will keep you fed and watered for a while, whilst he and his suited friends try to prise phone numbers and other things from you. However, your alcohol supply will begin to dwindle as you near the 1am mark as texts from his wife build up in his inbox, asking why his meeting is dragging on, yet again. Oh and for guys, you buy your own drinks. Maybe thats why there are more men than women at board level, because men have always had to work harder to fund the drinking habits of girls.

The office of choice for our recent graduates

Moreover, 7am starts don’t work after rolling in at 3am. Few jobs give Thursday mornings off to allow for mid week revelry. So what do the aesthetically pleasing graduates of today do? This thing called a job is quite a compromise, seen by some as an unnecessary burden - that is until their last loan instalment runs out.

So are they better off continuing to hang around London’s expensive nightspots hoping to snare a sugar mummy or daddy who can continue bankrolling their habits? Or alternatively should they pack in the gold digging dream, accept a job offer and join the career ladder?

With the number of graduates I have seen declining job offers over a few hundred pounds here and there, the answer is obviously not as straightforward as I thought. Ok maybe all graduates don't want to party all the time, so in that case what do they want to do once graduated?! Work? Rest? Play? They seem capable on the latter two, but unusually timid of embracing the former. Work! For more chat and news on graduates and their job market - please follow this blog!

Hire or Fire? For firms, has this decision just been made easier?

As of yesterday, the government made it simpler and less costly for companies to get rid of employees. The proposed changes include; an extension of settlement agreements, where staff accept a payment for leaving to help reduce the number of expensive tribunals, imposing a time limit on claims of unfair dismissal and a reduction in the duration of redundancy consultations. Even if these changes threaten Clooney’s job as a corporate ‘downsizer’ in the film ‪’Up in the Air’, as a graduate, does this affect you?

This obviously depends if you have a job or not. If employed, this only serves to make your situation slightly more precarious. But this is old news. Until you complete your graduate scheme and someone asks you to join their team, junior positions in the City have always been notoriously unstable. Therefore, you may need to work a little harder to ensure you always make the cut. However, these changes can only be a positive for firms. They are less likely to have to carry deadwood or those who have lost motivation, but still cream off a salary of several figures. Companies can more easily be detoxed.

Maybe more 'little people' [graduates] will be saved with these employment reforms

If unemployed, the future surely looks slightly brighter. The retirement age is creeping ever higher as some people simply can’t afford to retire. Whilst many firms have little faith in graduates, so unimaginatively choose to retain their more experienced staff. This causes a distinctly grey hue to swathe the page of staff photos and can upset the balance of a company. What is a point of board of management if they have fired all the workers? The unwillingness for some companies to let go of people that have essentially stopped contributing, in order to allow new team members to join at the bottom, is one factor that has further reduced the number of graduate jobs. It looks like this will change.

So you could argue these amendments will make rebalancing company structures easier. The droves of underperforming middle managers can be weeded out, creating spaces for you. A streamlining of headcount and a general drive to make offices more efficient, should help increase the number of jobs open to graduates. Companies understand they need to recruit graduates; they are good value for money and work hard. But with top heavy company structures, firms have been unable to put this plan into action. So hopefully this policy change will open up a few more graduate opportunities! For more graduate focused discussion please follow this blog.

Is an 'Entrepreneur' the new must have graduate job?

With the lack of exciting graduate jobs available these days and fierce competition for the ones that do exist, would throwing caution and the typical job search to the wind be a realistic option for the brave amongst you?

'Entrepreneur First' is a program that has been set up for final year or graduate mavericks with ideas and who fancy trying to run a company. If the rat race is not for you, this could be an viable alternative. You have to apply and go through a selection process to make sure you share enough genes with the Branson's and Sugar's of the world. However, if you are lucky enough to be chosen, you will find yourself in a privileged position with mentors, support, access to potential funding channels and networking opportunities all laid, fairly close to your feet. For the really motivated students, this is your perfect chance to demonstrate your entrepreneurialism and start something. The worst that could happen is having yet another interesting experience to stick on your CV! For inspiration, check out the members of the advisory board. I really didn't think that graduates could have such vision! For more information and how to apply please find the link to their site below.

http://www.entrepreneurfirst.org.uk/programme/programme-overview