Lisa Harris Marketing

A number of career-related links have built up in my inbox over the past few days, so I thought I’d pull them together into a post:

1. According to a recent article in the Independent, Masters students are more likely to find a job in the recession than their first-degree counterparts. Postgraduate unemployment, now at 4.1 per cent, is almost half the graduate unemployment rate of 7.9 per cent. But, according to the researchers, the qualification itself is not enough – it’s what you do with it that counts.

"A postgraduate course will not automatically solve your employment issues," says Charlie Ball, deputy research director of the Higher Education Careers Services Unit (Hecsu), which conducted the research. "A bit of paper is not of enormous value to employers – but what you do with that year is. Postgraduate degrees buy time to think about the employment market, make contacts, do some work experience and develop the practical skills you need to get hired."

Postgraduate applications are also set to increase next year as students continue to put off entering the jobs market. According to a survey of university careers advisers by Hecsu in September, 81 per cent said undergraduates were considering further study because they didn’t believe they would be able to get a job, even though many expressed employment as a preference. With even more postgraduates flooding the jobs market, developing vocational skills and links to employers looks set to become even more important for students seeking to distinguish themselves from the crowd.

2. How distinctive is your CV, really? Have a good look at this one, based on Google Maps: http://tinyurl.com/ycvcfcx Also interesting is the author’s blogpost describing how his CV went viral, with a few facts morphing into fantasy along the way…

3. Particularly relevant to Marketing Analytics students, some information about DunnHumby’s summer internship programme.

So what are YOU doing to make yourself stand out in the job market?