Graduates ‘need to keep looking’

Graduates may not know that there are still entry schemes and vacancies open to them at this late stage, according to one expert.

Tom Davie, director of professional development on the board of the Association of Graduate Careers Advisory Services, believes that students need to use all means available to them such as job portals or career counsellors to see if they can find an opportunity.

He paid particular attention to a scheme run by Santander to attract the top talent leaving university and stressed that although UK banks may have reduced the amount of positions on offer, "they certainly haven’t stopped graduate recruitment".

"They should be very proactive in selling their skills and abilities to those employers that are still recruiting – because they are still out there," observed Mr Davie, who also holds the post of deputy head of careers at the University of Durham.

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Further cause for optimism came in the Confederation of British Industry survey published last month, which revealed that the number of companies planning a freeze on graduate recruitment in 2010 dropped by 38 per cent from the previous year.

By Hayley Edwards