Graduates hoping to find employment at a big firm have been handed a boost by the news that nearly half of chief executives (CEOs) who took part in a recent survey are confident of increasing their headcount in 2010.


The poll, conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers, showed that 42 per cent of UK CEOs plan on increasing their headcount over the next year as part of a growing investment in staff.
 
Said survey, revaled at Davos, suggests that CEOs are trying to find ways in getting the best staff and increasing employee retention, something that could suit the brightest and best graduates.

Michael Rendell, partner and leader of human resource services at PwC, said: "We are all well-versed in the assertion that the deep cost-cutting and headcount reduction many companies felt forced to undertake during the recession could impact speed of recovery and competitiveness so it's encouraging that CEOs are now prioritising the people agenda."
  

Labels: graduate employers, graduate jobs, graduate recruitment schemes

It was interesting to read in the The Times that competition for graduate jobs is increasing as the record number of university undergraduates start to think about applying for graduate positions in 2010. 

This year there has been an unpreciendented number of applications and 2010 looks like it will be again a highly competitive year for graduates leaving univesity.

Many of the traditional graduate schemes are full which means that graduates who traditionally appliy for these schemes will need to cast their nets wider.

Graduate jobs in sales are especially attractive to the top graduates due to the potential earning salary that can be generated, our graduates can up to and over £35,000 in the first year with most earning around £30,000.

With there being so many graduate sales jobs available we expect the applications at Pareto to be very high this summer.

Labels: graduate earnings to be tagged, graduate employers, graduate jobs, graduate recruitment schemes

David Lammy, the higher education minister, has reacted to the results of the Association of Graduate Recruiters (AGR) graduate recruitment survey by emphasising the wide range of options available to recent university leavers.


The AGR's bi-annual report actually showed that there had been an 8.9 per cent reduction in the amount of available graduate vacancies, but this figure was considered a positive one because it was initially forecasted to be closer to 24.9 per cent.

University leavers' average expected starting salary froze at £25,000 for the second year in a row - an AGR survey first - in evidence that the recession has not had too much of a negative impact on the sector.

Mr Lammy said: "Employment rates for graduates continue to be higher than for those with lower qualifications. This research shows that there are areas of growth in the jobs market.

Labels: agr, graduate jobs, graduate recruitment schemes

Ever since the economic recession, marketing budgets for advertising have been shrinking. But a new report from Nielsen says that this decline has consistently slowed down over the last year.
In what is sure to be good news for anyone working in sales jobs, Nielsen reports that in September 2009 total advertising expenditure was down 10% year-on-year, whereas in May 2009 the figure was 16% year-on-year.
Retail sales jobs in branded products were the most affected by the recession. Whilst supermarkets and other retailers of basic goods engaged in price and advertising wars to promote their budget ranges and increase sales, brand advertisers tended to reduce their advertising.
Nielsen reports that in the first twelve months of the recession (July 2008 to June 2009) all but two manufacturers chose to reduce media budgets by between 6% and 66%. Audi and Seat were the only two manufacturers who maintained their advertising spend.
Conversely, ASDA increased its average ad spend by 40% during the same period.
One of the most significant increases in advertising spends however was the Government's Central Office of Information (COI). The COI increased its advertising spend by 33%, using marketing to promote public services and information rather to increase sales. It ran awareness campaigns on the HPV vaccine for young girls, the spread of swine flu, and the dangers of smoking and drinking.
The slowdown of decline in the marketing industry may eventually offer a boost to the graduate jobs market. Marketing and advertising once provided graduate recruitment schemes that attracted students from a range of academic disciplines, offering them the opportunity to put their studies to work in sales jobs as well as acquire valuable sales training.

Labels: graduate jobs, graduate recruitment schemes, sales jobs