What information do students struggle to find when job hunting and what are their views on the jobs market today? Uncover the answers to these questions, and discover how students approach job hunting in Prospects' Early Careers survey
Key findings
- Around half of school and college students had some form of work experience (50.3%).
- Fewer than half of graduate and postgraduate respondents (44.1%) had some form of work experience, with undergraduate respondents less likely to report having any work experience (39%).
- School and college students were more likely to have worked unpaid (87.7%) than undergraduates (64%) and postgraduates (30%).
- Paid work experience was always perceived to be more valuable for career progression than unpaid work.
- Small or medium enterprises (SMEs) were popular amongst those who stated a preference for employer size.
What's inside
The report is broken down into the following career journey stages:
- school and college students (job hunting, work experience, apprenticeships, university)
- university students (job hunting, work experience, further study)
- graduates and postgraduates (job hunting, work experience).
About the report
Prospects undertook research of its audience with Enhance Media in 2017/18. The survey, which received 8,320 completed responses, aims to provide a snapshot of student and graduate attitudes, motivations and their job hunting and career intentions.
The information gathered should be of value to employers, recruiters, careers advisers and anyone involved in supporting and developing those taking the first steps of their career journey.
Written by
Was this page useful?
Thank you for your feedback