The trends shaping graduate recruitment

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For graduates entering the workplace this autumn, the jobs market is tough. The technology sector, a significant source of employment in recent years, is suffering a downturn. Other industries are reining in opportunities and salaries.

Job hunters are advised to consider a wide range of careers and find work experience as soon as possible to help them stand out.

These four trends are shaping this year’s graduate recruitment.

Tech

Unemployment in the US tech sector has been rising, fuelled by redundancies at larger companies. Staff turnover is down, potentially creating fewer opportunities, while new job postings are increasingly demanding higher qualifications — notably four-year degrees.

“It is a softer hiring environment for new graduates,” says Tim Herbert, chief research officer at the Computing Technology Industry Association. “Any time there is this kind of uncertainty, employers get risk averse, and employees less likely to look for new jobs or retire.”

However, unemployment in tech is still below the overall level across all sectors and a core demand remains for software developers and engineers in cloud computing and cyber security, for example, says Nimmi Patel, head of skills, talent and diversity at TechUK, the British trade body. “That need won’t go away.”

Work experience

More recruiters are seeking applicants with prior work experience, according to Matt Sigelman, president of The Burning Glass Institute, a research NGO which analysed data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

His review of job postings found the number of vacancies for applicants with a bachelors degree but no work experience had fallen consistently over the past three years. Such openings in business and financial operations, computing and mathematics, and management roles have halved since 2022 and in life and physical science have fallen by a third. “It shows the importance of skills.”

Martin Birchall, managing director of High Fliers Research, a consultancy that polls the 100 top recruiters at the Russell Group of leading UK universities, stresses the importance of internships and work experience. “Employers are now so overwhelmed with graduate applications, they don’t look at academic achievements.”

Drop in UK openings

Jonathan Black, director of the careers service at Oxford university, reports a drop in UK graduate vacancies from 7,000 last year to 5,800 in 2024.

Birchall says competition for graduate jobs is at an all-time high. High Fliers’ research shows investment banks and fund managers are paying among the highest salaries for the smaller number of competitive posts they offer, but may scale back in 2025. Lidl, the retailer, is also paying well for a smaller number of prospective managers on its graduate programme.

However High Fliers’ survey of recruiters’ sentiment suggests renewed growth in hiring next year by the largest two sectors taking on graduates: accountancy and professional service firms; and public sector employers.

Finance outperforms

Prospects look healthier for graduates of management masters degrees from the leading business schools.

Data collected by the Financial Times for its annual Masters in Management ranking, which surveys alumni three years after they graduate, shows a steady rise in average earnings, notably since the pandemic.

In the past year, those who chose to go into finance — including investment banking, private equity and insurance — did better relative to other sectors, with average annual salaries in excess of $88,000.

Employees in consulting, technology and manufacturing reported a smaller rise in salaries. Earnings dropped for those working in retail.

Chris Connors of Johnson Associates, a New York-based financial services remuneration consultancy, says the differential rise in recent months of finance salaries reflects fierce competition for recruits, with increases linked to high inflation and a rise in bonuses after two stable years.