Graduates leaving university this year may have to widen their job searches, the chief executive of the Association of Graduate Recruiters has said.
Speaking to the Guardian, Carl Gilleard warned that the credit crunch has forced many big City firms to reduce their intake of new graduate trainees this year, leaving many university-leavers facing an even tougher jobs market.
To try and get round this problem, students looking for a post-university position should consider searching outside of London or in less prestigious industries, he advised.
Mr Gilleard also suggested that they should be willing to take a less-than-perfect job at first and continue applying for better positions.
"Just ask yourself how flexible you are both in terms of the career that you want and the distance you are prepared to travel," the newspaper reported him as saying.
For those who do make it through to the interviews stage, they should be prepared for a rigorous recruitment process. New figures from Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development suggest that increasing numbers of employers are using a range of tests when selecting graduate trainees.
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