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Grad Facts 2008 (Summer 08)

Summary

Reno Pelekanou, from Guardian News and Media, reveals some of the key findings of Grad Facts 2008, a biennial survey which explores the attitudes and aspirations of graduates.

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Introduction

On July 2nd at the Royal Society of Arts, the Guardian launched the results of Grad Facts 2008 - its award wining* biennial survey that looks at the attitudes and aspirations of graduates. It explores everything from how graduates feel about their time at university, to what they most want from their first job. Over 3,000 final year undergraduates from across the UK were surveyed in February/March of this year.

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It was worth it!

Despite 70% of respondents in the survey being worried about their student debts as a result of rising living costs and increased loans, 68% said their degree was worth the financial investment. Only 6% wish they had got a job instead of going to university. Also, the majority of graduates are happy with the course they undertook, with just one in five feeling they should have chosen a different degree course.

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Work experience breeds confidence

Graduates were asked to grade themselves from ‘poor’ to ‘exceptional’ on a range of skills and attributes that they feel they could bring to their first job. Respondents rated themselves highly on their ‘ability to take their own initiative’, ‘team work’ and ‘PC skills’ but, as in previous years’ surveys, not so highly on ‘business awareness’ and ‘numeracy’.

Graduates’ perceived strengths and their actual strengths may not be the same thing. However, what was interesting was that those who had worked whilst at university – be it a job relevant to their degree, desired career or even bar/restaurant work - had higher perceived abilities across all areas, than those who had not worked. The biggest difference was in the creative or soft skills, such as ‘initiative’, ‘innovation’ and ‘communication skills’. What this does show is that getting work experience whilst at university at least gives graduates greater confidence in their abilities.

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The changing demands of graduates

91% of graduates stated that getting a good work/life balance was important to them and 67% said they had to be happy with the ethical record of a prospective employer. Incidentally, a ‘successful career’ and ‘good salary’ came further down the list of things graduates most wanted. This seems to suggest that graduates’ working values are perhaps changing. However, a good work/life balance and corporate social responsibility mean different things to different people. So what do graduates specifically want?

Firstly, regarding work/life balance, graduates were asked to put into their own words what they most desired. ‘Flexible working hours’ was the most popular, followed by ‘reasonable working hours’, regardless of the sector they wanted to work in. This implies that a good work/life balance for graduates is less about keeping long hours to a minimum and more about fitting working hours into their lifestyle.

Secondly, respondents who said that they had to feel happy with the ethical record of a prospective employer were asked to state what they felt an employer needed to do to demonstrate a good corporate social responsibility (CSR) record. Much of what they said focussed on an organisation’s consideration for the environment, such as working towards carbon offsetting and recycling - 43% of respondents see CSR as an environmental issue. However, 35% see it as being more about an organisation’s treatment and responsibility to its employees. This highlights, that to graduates, CSR is just as much an internal as well as an external responsibility. Employers, therefore, need to focus on both equally in their CSR strategy and communication.

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Embracing graduates’ expectations

However, is a general desire for greater flexibility and a conscientious employer taking precedence over the desire for a successful career? It seems not! Graduates who want both a good work/life balance and stated that the ethical record of an employer is important to them are, according to Grad Facts, slightly more likely to expect an early promotion, more likely to want a good salary and just as likely to want a successful career. It seems that they want it all!

There has been a lot of debate lately on ‘Generation Y’ graduates. This is the generation that were born between 1982 and the early millennium. They are digital natives and environmentally aware. Despite rising student debts, they have never experienced a recession, but instead have seen growing economic prosperity over the last ten years. Furthermore, they can more readily access information about organisations and more freely share this on networks, forums and blogs. This means they are more clued up on companies and have more control. Consequently, they expect more from their graduate jobs and are more discerning about where they work. However, do employers really need to take notice of graduates’, perhaps unrealistic, expectations?

Well, the extent and seriousness of these changing values could be endlessly debated, but the real point is that embracing this can give graduate employers an invaluable opportunity in their candidate attraction. Nearly half of all graduate recruiters, according to the Association of Graduate Recruiters, experienced a recruitment shortfall last year, indicating there is still a war for talent. Also, despite a possible recession, many recruiters expect a shortfall this year. Therefore, in a competitive market and when employers are offering graduates a similar salary and package, the ones that understand and engage with graduates’ expectations have the opportunity to gain a competitive advantage in both their recruitment and retention of graduates.

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About Grad Facts

Grad Facts 2008 was independently carried out by Opinionpanel Research on behalf of the Guardian. Over 3,000 final year undergraduates completed an online questionnaire. The sample is fully representative of the UK final year population, by university type, region of study, course type, gender and ethnicity. The quotas reflect data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).

For more on Grad Facts, go to:

www.guardian.co.uk/adinfo/gradfacts2008

* Media Week Awards 2007 (Silver) Best Research Initiative

Content last updated: July 08