Praetorian Marketing helps graduates make sense of the Job Market Statistics

Praetorian Marketing, an outsource sales and marketing company based in Birmingham, is well aware of the difficulties facing graduates when it comes to finding a job. The AGR is an organisation that provides support to some of the biggest graduate recruiters in the UK. Its yearly survey is highly respected and can provide graduates with a wealth of information to improve their chances of finding a job once they leave university.

The survey is most useful for those who are interested in working at a large private sector organisaton, which has a traditional entry and training pathway. It helps graduates to decipher how the job market is looking, who’s hiring and who isn’t. There is also further information about what you can expect to be paid if you were offered a job and the predicted number of applicants per position. 214 companies who are set to offer 21,324 positions in 2012 are included in the survey.

The managing director of Praetorian Marketing points out that this survey isn’t useful to everyone. "The survey is very much focused on London-based corporate companies and probably isn’t going to be much use for those who are looking perhaps to work in the public sector or in medium sized enterprise."

The basic facts and figures are without doubt interesting, but Praetorian Marketing found the far more encouraging information imbedded in the full report. It seems that many recruiters actually struggled to fill their positions last year. The industries hardest hit with this problem were those perceived to be less glamorous like utilities and insurance. Praetorian Marketing believes that, "For individuals serious about finding a job this kind of information is invaluable. If you're less set on a particular career path, and are willing to turn your hand to anything, then you could find success in a less popular sector." This is echoed by the chief executive of AGR, Carl Gilleard, who encourages graduates to "Be adaptable and consider careers in areas you might not have thought of before or had a jaundiced view of."

It seems from the report that more and more employers are making campus visits in an attempt to find out who the serious candidates are. Praetorian Marketing recommends that you find out when your university career days are, which companies are attending and do your homework! "They’re wanting to figure you out as much as you are them. Make sure you can fire off some information about their company and be prepared to talk about your achievements and career goals. Get the company rep’s name and number so you can follow it up with a thank you and ask any more questions that you have."

It seems that many graduates are listening to Mr. Gilleard's advice already. Recent results have shown that graduates are starting to move away from traditional career pathways in favour of more unusual sectors. Furthermore Praetorian Marketing understands that many graduates are joining family businesses, starting their own companies and taking on internships and apprenticeships with smaller companies. "Graduates are starting to recognise that simply having a degree isn't going to guarantee you a job. You need experience and personal drive. It looks like many young jobseekers are using their entrepreneurial talents to start their own small businesses instead of sitting on the sofa waiting for a job to fall into their lap."

Praetorian Marketing finishes by adding that the main thing to take away is that the job market isn’t hopeless. Their final words of wisdom? "Prepare to be flexible, prepare to work hard and prepare to take control of your career path."

Praetorian Marketing is an outsource sales and marketing company that specialises in direct face to face advertising, event management and in store promotions.

For more information visit

http://www.agr.org.uk/
http://www.praetorianmarketing.co.uk