Graduate Focus Shifts Away From Finance Jobs

A new survey reveals a drastic shift in the job market for new graduates. Many new graduates are turning away from the usual jobs in finance due to the credit crunch. The new hot spots are the jobs in marketing, creative outlets, and general media.

The study found that roughly 20% of new graduates wished to enter the creative sector rather than the financial sector. The general opinion is that the creative industries were not as hurt by the recent financial crisis. Of the 1,400 new graduates surveyed in the Reed.co.uk study, 4% picked finance, 3% picked accounting, and only 2% picked banking.

This is fairly understandable given the current market. Alliance & Leicester, HSBC, and Bradford & Bingley all made significant cuts over the past month, while Lehman Brothers failed completely. The possible Lloyds TSB takeover of HBOS could also cause more job cuts.

This shift might have significant consequences for the future of the economy though. Reed.co.uk issued a warning that fewer new minds in the financial sector would just slow economic recovery.

The survey also discovered that 50% of the graduates were worried about getting a job in the current crisis. Over 50% have already applied for at least five jobs without any success. 25% even said they'd accept a 5% pay cut if they could have guaranteed job security over the next three years. This makes sense considering that 25% felt that their biggest employment fear was that there simply wouldn't be any jobs available.

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