做好準備，畢業有“位”來

Graduate employment levels are improving， but you must 1）look beyond your academic work alone.

As 2）Ucas forms are filled in， personal statements written， and the 17-year-olds of Great Britain sit down to decide on what degree they will study at university， there’s a lot at stake. 3）Over and above the student debt， and the potential best-friendmaking is the question of what one might do with a degree having completed it， and what career it might lead to.

“Graduate” and “employment” are not terms that have always sat comfortably together， but recently things have been looking up. The Higher Education Statistics Agency （HESA） found that the percentage of university leavers in full-time employment was up by just under two percent in 2012—2013 from the previous year. Although this figure hasn’t yet reached a pre-recession level， it 4）bodes well for the 5）minefield that is the post-graduation job hunt.

So far， among my friends， further study has been more popular than employment. Many， finding that their arts and humanities degrees were too vague， have sought postgraduate study instead. One pal， a Leeds University graduate of 2013 now working as a headhunter， counted her employed friends on one hand. “I’ve got… three，” she said.“One is working abroad， one at her dad’s company， and another is in advertising.”

Of late， university has been sold as a reliable route into employment， and my generation has been thrust into higher education 6）on the premise that when we emerge， degree certificate in 7）clammy hand， we will be offered a job. But this simply doesn’t hold up anymore： as higher education has been turned into a commodity， undergraduate degrees have lost their worth.

Last week the retail 8）mogul， entrepreneur and Dragon’s Den star Theo Paphitis confirmed this for me at a vocational skills event. “Having a degree means nothing，” he barked into my tape recorder. “I look at what skill sets people have got. That’s key.”

Tell that to the 400，000 students who applied to university last year， and to all of those with undergraduate degrees nationwide. Do not be alarmed， parents， teachers and sixth formers. Having a degree does mean something， but only when it is combined with something else—industry experience， marketable skills， a 9）USP.

But what kind of activities should students engage in to promote themselves in the job market？ I asked a few employed graduates for some help. “Work experience is really key，”Northumbria University graduate Helen Flannery， who now works in PR， explains. “It puts you ahead of the game， as many graduate jobs require relevant experience in a similar role as well as a degree. Volunteering is also a good idea， even if it’s one day or one evening a week. Use the university careers office， too. They can give you clear and sound advice before you head out into the job market.”

Jennifer Ormiston， a master’s graduate of environment management from the University of Stirling， urges undergraduates to make an early start on contact-development. “I would recommend that students join whichever professional institution is related to their career，” she says. “You get to attend all sorts of big events with professionals， and they are a great opportunity to network.”

But how should sixth formers prepare for the world of work even as they choose their university options？ At 17， choosing where you want to live， study and make friends for the next three years is one task—considering the future is quite another.

It pays to think about it， if you can. “Very few people know about the industry of choice that they’re going into，”businesswoman， Apprentice adviser and peer-to-be Karren Brady explains. “I think that there’s a bit of a disconnect between the selection of the [university] course， the reasons for the selection of the course， and the realistic expectations of the course.” And she’s right： at 17， most people don’t know what they want to be when they grow up. Indeed， some adults still don’t， well into middle age.

One friend explains to me her approach to applying to university. “I was lucky that I knew what I wanted to do， and understood that the best place for this was London. I applied to all of the best universities there， interned throughout my degree and got a safe 2.1. That earned me a job offer two months before graduation， and a second by September.”

Would she recommend that strategy？ “Absolutely. If you’re very ambitious and know what you want， then go for it. Incorporate your university choice into your career—pick the right city for the right job opportunities. The jobs are out there， if you look for them.”

One thing that university affords some students is the opportunity for a year out， either abroad or in a chosen industry.“Because I studied French， I was able to take a year abroad as part of my degree，” Oxford graduate Jake Hills， who now works at a PR firm， explains. “I spent six months working at an ad agency in France， and that got me interested in marketing and branding. I went through the normal interview process to get my job—I think it helped that I had 10）translatable work experience.”

There is a lot to be said for a year out of university. One friend’s maths degree allowed her a year to begin training as an accountant at a big London firm. She now has a place to finish the scheme in 2015 when she graduates， and after that will be placed in a permanent role. Another friend， a Lancaster University Business Management graduate， picked up a job at a major electronics corporation having spent her “year in industry” at the company. She has since bounded up the promotion ladder， just three years after finishing her degree.

But what is the best advice for anyone who isn’t sure about what lies ahead after university？“Don’t 11）pigeonhole yourself too much when you choose your course，”Hills says. “Think about how ‘mappable’ the skills you could learn studying will be to real life. I ultimately decided to study French because I thought that having a language would be a practical thing.”

There’s no mad rush， journalism graduate Jessica McDonnell tells me. “If you’re not too sure about what you would like to do when you finish university， take a year out and assess where you want to be.”

“There’s nothing wrong with being indecisive，” Jordan Lambe， a now-employed graduate of Leeds Metropolitan University， agrees. “We live in a world where it’s easier than ever to dip in and out of different careers， so the worst thing you can do is worry about making the wrong decision.”

It’s all about you in the end. “Shoot for your dream and don’t be afraid to take risks，” Leicester University sociology graduate Daniel Odutola says. “Be prepared to work very hard and be persistent！” That， coming from your parents， friends or teachers， is the best advice that anyone can give.

畢業生就業率正在上升，但你不能單著眼于自己的學業。

填好了高校招生服務處的表格，寫好了個人陳述，17歲的英國學生坐下來考慮著他們要在大學中學習哪個學位，其中有很多東西需要慎重考慮。除了學生貸款和潛在的交友問題外，還要考慮修完學位后要怎么做，這個學位能讓自己找到什么樣的工作。

“畢業生”和“就業”兩個詞并不時常能和諧地一起出現，但最近情況有所好轉。英國高等教育統計局發現大學畢業生獲得全職工作的比例較去年有所上升，只比2012—2013年度低了2%。雖然數據還沒達到經濟衰退前的水平，但對畢業求職這個危機來說是個好預兆。

目前，在我的朋友圈中，繼續進修比就業更受歡迎。很多人覺得他們的文學和人文學位太虛了，于是決定讀研。一位朋友是利茲大學2013年畢業生，她現在的職業是獵頭，她朋友中就業的人數用五個手指就能數完。“我有……三個，”她說。“一個在國外工作，一個在她爸爸的公司上班，還有一個在廣告行業。”

近來，讀大學被吹噓成就業的可靠途徑，我這一代人被推入大學的前提是我們畢業時，冒汗的手能接過學位證書，我們會得到一份工作。但現在的情況已經不再是這樣了：隨著高等教育成為商品，大學畢業證書已失去了價值。

上周，零售業巨頭、企業家、《龍穴》名人西奧·帕菲提斯在一個職業技能講座中肯定了這一點。“學位沒一點用處，”他對著我的磁帶錄音機大聲說道。“我要看到他們的技能。