- 54% chose the wrong university degree
- 70% of graduates consider working abroad
- Graduates shy away from job hunting on social media
As this year's graduates hunt for work, Milkround.com has been asking its users for their views on job hunting, where they'll be living and whether they picked the right university course in weekly homepage polls.
Social media may be all the rage for communicating with friends, but it's yet to catch on for graduate job hunts. Just 30 percent of respondents in a Milkround.com poll had ever used social media to aid their job hunt despite Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn increasingly being used to find employees.
Those who had used social media for finding work did encourage others to do so. One said: "I think it's always useful to use something like LinkedIn - it's surprising who you're connected to. I never used Facebook when job-hunting though as I see it as something unrelated to work."
Another added: "It's important to remember that social media goes beyond Facebook and Twitter - developed sites like LinkedIn and more niche careers sites like Bright Network can be a great way to network with relevant people and find opportunities."
Living and working abroad is inspiring graduates to move out of the UK. Some 55 percent of graduates are considering going overseas as they want to see more of the world while one in 10 wants to learn a new language. Another 10 percent claim the careers they are interested in are abroad. Just 17 percent rule out going abroad, suggesting there could be a brain drain if graduates follow their desire to leave the UK.
Far from moving abroad, many graduates are facing their first months after graduation at home with their parents. Half of the graduates surveyed by Milkround.com said they expected to move back to live with their parents as they try to find work. Nearly one in five aimed to live on their own while eight percent wanted to live with university friends.
When it comes to putting degrees into practice, Milkround.com users are not convinced they chose the right degree course: 54 percent claim they didn’t, indicating ill-feeling towards three years of study to find the jobs market so fiercely competitive.
Milkround.com spokesperson, Mike Barnard, said: "Our weekly polls provide a snapshot of what’s on graduate minds. The competitive summer graduate job market will lead to many graduates feeling they studied the wrong course, and will certainly be sparking ideas of living and working abroad to get away from the stress. It’s worth noting social media is used for recruitment so web-savvy graduates would do well to try all online sources to promote themselves and find that all-important graduate job."
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