Hopes for graduate job market recovery despite Covid hit

Gloomy graduates may have less to fear than they think when it comes to landing that first paid position.

Swinburne University graduate Alex Farah, 24, has put his journalistic ambitions on hold for a job with ANZ bank. Photograph: Paul Jeffers The Australian

More than 80 per cent of this year’s new graduates fear the pandemic has soured the job market, but at the same time there are indications that graduate hiring this year will be stronger than it was last year.

According to a new survey, 81 per cent of graduates believe COVID-19 has damaged the job market, 89 per cent expect difficulty in finding a job in their area of study and 67 per cent fear pay in their field will be lower than before. About 35 per cent have decided not to look for a graduate job this year.

While graduate hiring this year is expected to be healthier than last year, the proportion of employers who expect to hire five or more graduates still remains less than it was two years ago.

The survey of 251 graduate employers and 255 students who were due to graduate last year or before the middle of this year was conducted in early December.

It found that 63 per cent of employers planned to hire five or more graduates this year compared with 54 per cent last year and 67 per cent in 2019, before the pandemic. Job search site Indeed conducted the research in December to test the effects of the pandemic on graduate attitudes and employer intentions.

“I think there’s been an assumption that the longer-term outlook is more grim than what the data shows,” Indeed head of career insights Jay Munro said.

“There is definitely a silver lining for high-performing graduates in this climate as this group is likely going to be able to accelerate their careers once they land a role.”

The research also found that small and medium enterprises were likelier than large employers to hire as many graduates this year as they did pre-COVID.

Swinburne University journalism graduate Alex Farah, 24, has had to put his dream of becoming a sports reporter on hold in the interests of earning an income. When his casual job folded just as he was finishing his degree, he took a position as a customer service specialist at ANZ, dealing with small business.

As Melbourne endured its second hard lockdown, starting in August, the job market he expected to be difficult became impossible, so he found the bank job via a friend. He landed on his feet with a role he liked and good prospects.

“The beauty with this job is that you can move around a lot, so I am hoping to get into a media role with the bank,” he said.

“I would love to also still be involved in writing and in journalism long term because it is still also a passion.”

Among graduate employers expecting to hire even more this year than last is Sydney-based online graphic design company Canva.

Its exponential growth was given a further boost by the accelerated move to online services during the pandemic. With an estimated worth of $US6bn ($7.7bn), 40 million monthly users and 1200 staff worldwide, most in Sydney, it put on 50 graduates last year and expects to double that number this year in line with its general hiring.

Canva was voted second in the Australian Association of Graduate Employers top 75 graduate employers — as voted by 3200 graduates late last year — and is perpetually in the market for software engineers.

“Even through COVID we’ve been able to accelerate those hiring plans and continue growing the team,” said Lachlan Andrews, who has responsibility for global corporate communications.

“In terms of what we’re looking for in graduates, it’s really exciting to see that software design and engineering is becoming more popular here in Australia. As a technology company we’re not only looking for that technical knowledge but also what are the soft skills.”

Canva wants graduates who are “forward thinking, who are agile, who can work in an environment with a bit of ambiguity but look to grow in different responsibilities and take on big challenges”.

“There’s no shortage of exciting projects and opportunities to work on here,” Mr Andrews said. “So as well as that technical expertise, it’s also about finding that cultural fit, not only for us but for those graduates.”

That accords with the survey’s finding that 61 per cent of employers were looking for “a positive attitude, a strong work ethic, good soft interpersonal skills, adaptability and resilience” rather than high marks (6 per cent) or demonstrated experience (19 per cent).