More than 1 million graduate job applications set new record – London Business News | Londonlovesbusiness.com

Competition for graduate jobs has reached a record high with the average employer receiving 140 applications per graduate job, a 59% increase on the previous year.

Respondents to Institute of Student Employers (ISE) annual Student Recruitment Survey reported that they had received more than 1.2 million applications to just under 17,000 graduate vacancies.

This is the highest number of applications per job recorded in more than three decades – since the ISE began collecting the data in 1991.

The most sought-after roles tend to be higher paid and in growth sectors with 205 application per vacancy in digital and IT and 188 applications per job in financial and professional services. Charity and public sector, and the built environment are the least competitive with 74 and 85 applications per role respectively.

Competition for apprenticeships and other school leaver roles has also soared with the average organisation receiving 113 applications per job, a 66% increase on last year.

Slowdown of the graduate jobs market, use of AI to speed up job applications and widening of entry criteria and are among the reasons for soaring competition.

Graduate vacancies have grown 4% in the last year, compared to 6% the previous year. Employers forecast 1% growth over the next year, citing economic pressures as the main reason for reduced hiring numbers.

AI is creating uncertainty among students about whether they can use it in the recruitment process and the assessment tools employers deploy. Over two-thirds of employers are either changing or thinking of changing their selection process as a response to advances in AI.

While a third of employers recommend that candidates don’t use AI, almost half reported they are happy for candidates to use it, mainly for writing cover letters/CVs and completing online applications and half said candidates had used AI in this way.

Graduate employers have also reduced their minimum entry requirements to increase the diversity of their hires. Less reliance on minimum UCAS tariffs and 2:1 degrees means vacancies are open to a broader range of applicants.

The changes to the visa regulations have made the job market tougher for international students. While most respondents to the survey said that they will continue to recruit international students, 18% had rescinded existing job offers due to changes to visa rules.

Stephen Isherwood, joint CEO of ISE said, “The current jobs market is tough for graduates with a considerable jump in applications per vacancy.

“While this marks a positive move from employers encouraging applications from a broader pool of candidates, the downside is that this amounts to millions of rejection messages to students in the last year. We have to realise the impact this can have on students. It’s important employers are transparent about the process, providing feedback where possible and managing the rejection process with care.

“There is a danger that we make the jobs market appear more difficult than it is to students and they step away from the market entirely. Overall employers are maintaining their commitment to graduates. Applicant volumes have always outstripped vacancy levels and overall opportunities are still growing despite the challenging economic environment.

“Students should be aware of the vicious circle being created. As AI makes it easier to apply for jobs, volumes are pushed up and quality down, creating more rejections. To help their chances, students should try to focus their applications and get work experience as employers are hiring more and more former interns each year. AI can be useful to enhance applications, but they must be authentic otherwise candidates may find themselves in the wrong job.”