Get ready for the competition

The Irish economy may be in a somewhat better state three years from now but many of the same sectors will still dominate the jobs market and the competition will be tougher than ever, writes JOHN HOLDEN

THERE’S NO better feeling than embarking on third level education for the first time. With the world at your feet, there’s nothing that can stop any student with enough determination to make it in the real world. And while the real world might seem a long way away, some decisions you make now will impact on your prospects down the road.

Nobody wants to put a dampener on your enthusiasm but there are some points worth noting.

First the harsh realities: according to the 2012 GradIreland Graduate Salary Graduate Recruitment Trends survey, there has been a continued retraction in the graduate jobs market.

Graduate starting salaries are also in decline. Plus, for the majority of graduates, work experience is more important than postgraduate qualifications.

In a nutshell, the economy is in a bad place and is unlikely to have significantly improved by the time you graduate. But there will always be employers seeking the brightest and best and if you make clever choices now, future success will be more attainable.

For starters, consider what course to choose in light of what the economy currently needs. Some people will be lucky enough to have always wanted to be a doctor, farmer, ballerina or whatever. For the rest of us, our college choice may be a little more complicated and so being practical is a good idea.

"There are currently lots of exciting and interesting things happening in Ireland," explains Mark Mitchell of GradIreland.ie. "There are lots of interesting developments in science, IT and tech-based companies. Many new start-ups in these sectors will be bigger companies in a few years time looking to expand their staff and they will be the future landscape."

In terms of graduate programmes, this is still dominated by big companies and professional services such as accountancy and finance.

“People with organised graduate programmes tend to be traditional companies in traditional sectors, like PriceWaterhouse Coopers or the Central Bank,” says Mitchell. “The landscape for those employers will stay unchanged. There should be a lot of jobs in smaller companies right now too looking to expand.”

There’s no better time to get in with a start-up than during a recession. If their product or service is in demand, you could find yourself on the right side of a company on its way up. But finding these smaller companies is always going to be a problem for a new graduate.

“These jobs are both harder to fill and harder to find,” says Mitchell. “So there’s a big onus on what university careers services can do, course tutors and third level institutions on a wider level in getting graduates and new employers together.”

Science, engineering and technology are growth areas. But there are also some staple sectors that always need new people – the financial, accounting and insurance industries, for example.

According to the 2012 GradIreland Graduate Salary Graduate Recruitment Trends survey a number of areas expect to see continued demand for graduates: software financial regulation, financial services, audit and insolvency, science and medical devices, healthcare and food sectors, development engineers, Java developers, software testers and electronic engineers. However, don’t be disappointed if none of these areas are for you.

Recruiters look for employability skills, many of which are learnt in every discipline. “Whether you’re in journalism, marketing or IT, whatever area you’re interested in, IT skills are an absolute must,” says Mitchell.

“IT skills are needed in every sector,” he adds. “Communication skills are really important. Being conversant in new social media and understanding how different media work is important. Plus modern graduates need to be able to work remotely.

“Language skills are also in demand but the languages required have changed. While a European language was useful in the past, over the next decade we’ll be talking more and more about Mandarin and Arabic.”

The graduates who are most sought after right now are those with skills combinations. A second language along with sales and marketing, IT or science qualifications are all all desirable right now. People with skills combinations demonstrate that they will not only be able to use these skills, but are adaptable and able to do a variety of things.

Adaptable, self-motivated, driven and resilient graduates are always in demand and those skills can’t be taught anywhere. So if you’ve already got some of these characteristics, youre half way there.