Work experience ‘key to graduates landing job’

GRADUATES with work experience are three times more likely to land a job offer than other students, new research suggests.

Internships and work placements are becoming increasingly important as students compete to secure employment, it reveals.

The study, by High Fliers Research, also found that record numbers of students are applying for jobs at an earlier stage, with many researching career options before they start their final year of university.

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Around 18,252 final year students at 30 universities were interviewed for the report, which looks at the career and salary prospects of graduates.

The findings show that more than a third (36 per cent) of applicants who had completed an internship or another type of work experience with a graduate employer had secured at least one definite job offer by March this year, compared to 11 per cent of those who gained no career-related experience while they were studying.

Four fifths of students said that they had done work which was career-related while at university, lasting for an average of six months.

The study found that in an attempt to secure a decent position, many are starting their job search early.

Seven in 10 said they began researching their options before they started their final year of study, and a record 63 per cent had submitted applications by the end of February.

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