This week has been an extremely busy one for the Greenlight team, with everyone making sure things went smoothly for our ‘City View’ event. ‘City View’ is one of our main diversity projects and gives female undergraduates and insight into IT jobs at the top investment banks. In attendance on the night were Goldman Sachs, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays Capital, Citi, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, J.P.Morgan, Nomura, Morgan Stanley, RBS and UBS.

Despite unfortunate tube strikes, the event was a big success, with promising students having the opportunity to network with the bank representatives as well as gaining an insight into the work environment at these banks. The evening proved a great experience for all of the women who attended the event.

This means Greenlight now have to get ready to do it all over again for ‘Inside and Out’ on the 17th of November!

With each year of university admissions, comes a greater number of applicants and furthermore a greater number of students left disappointed. There is a growing emphasis on the importance of going to university and getting a degree. It has inevitably resulted in graduate recruiters finding it more and more difficult to separate suitable candidates. Some firms even assess your ability at GCSE results when trying to choose a candidate.

In response to this current situation some firms have considered direct entry jobs for A-Level leavers. Whilst this would save thousands of students from the heavy debt incurred after university it would also be undermining the importance of university today.

I do not believe that this would remedy the problem of too many graduates because it would simply replace them with too many people looking for jobs straight out of college/sixth form.

I also think university is an important time for an individual both academically and socially. It is an opportunity to specialise in a particular subject and gain numerous transferable skills which are not exercised for A-Levels. It is also a time for students to grow up and prepare themselves for a career of their choice whilst gathering life experiences along the way.

The problem still remaining though is how recruiters are supposed to separate potential candidates from the rest. Academia is obviously crucial to this decision but so is the character of the individual and their vital inter personal and social skills.

It would be naïve of me to suggest that recruiters undermine the importance of academic results but to eliminate a potential candidate because they did not achieve an ‘A’ in mathematics at GCSE level seems irrational and counter productive. An individual’s personality and social skills are just as important in graduate jobs today.

Hi I’m Sean and I am currently doing a couple of weeks work experience at Stafford Long. I graduated this year from UCL with a degree in Anthropology and have now found myself in a gap year which has effectively been thrust upon me!

A large part of my problem thus far has been not knowing what I would like to do for a career and whether I could be successful in that industry. Along with a degree which did not provide me with a clear vocation resulted in me spending my summer recovering from studying and also delving through numerous career websites in a frenzy.

I have since calmed down somewhat and accepted that finding a job is going to be difficult therefore I need to spend the year realising my goals. I think the most important thing to remember during this time is to be proactive.

Whilst this has been a worrying time, I feel my time is better spent investing in myself to make myself more employable whilst also searching for a career I would like to pursue.

In this economic climate I think work experience and extracurricular activities are vital in making you stand out from competition.

I have applied for internships and work experiences, have enrolled in an evening Spanish language course for the year and have been planning a trip to South America to finally experience Machu Picchu (and practise my Spanish!).

Whilst there is obviously the feeling of uncertainty to overcome I have decided I am going to enjoy my year and seize any opportunities that come my way. Funnily enough I am very excited to tackle the challenges ahead.

The results are in. Despite the record numbers of As achieved and the introduction of the A*, A-level students battled clearing for a university place. This year, 674,339 students applied for university, a massive 63,000 more than last year. Unfortunately for many though university life has had to be put on hold as places dried up.

Clearing opened on results day and placed 190,000 students at universities to join the other 200,000 who had already secured a place. The remaining however are either advised to take a gap year and reapply or look into apprenticeships.

Despite advice, record numbers have decided to apply to universities abroad. Many top universities in the UK now have campuses in other countries. Nottingham has two, in China and Malaysia, which don’t have the same government restrictions on places. Others are turning to universities in Australia and New Zealand where university culture is similar to here in the UK. Such colleges have reported a 50% rise in UK enquiries for the coming semester. Students are able to complete a three year undergraduate degree with a core major but tuition fees are much more (£10,000/year). The cost of living down under however is slightly lower than in the UK and students could expect to earn £10/hour in their part time job.

Campus Ali says: It’s a difficult time for A-level students particularly in the current job market as a degree is essential. Studying abroad seems like a great alternative to UK university life as not only will students come away with a degree but they’ll also leave with valuable life experience from adapting to a new culture

Hi I’m Charlotte and with my gap year winding to an end, I am taking work experience at Stafford Long for the next couple of weeks! I thought I would tell you a bit about what I’ve been doing with my year away from full-time education.

Though my gap year wasn’t exactly my choice (I didn’t get into any of the universities I applied to), come September and armed with 3 As in English Literature, Economics and Geography, I jumped right back on the UCAS bandwagon; writing my second personal statement and choosing a new swathe of prospective universities. Despite a couple more early rejections, I was lucky enough to get into St Andrews to study English Literature and can’t wait to start there next month!

The first half of my year was spent working part time as a Supervisor for a well-known clothing company with a wealth of possible travelling destinations whirling around in my head, vying for my well earned cash.

“Hey, do you want to come to India?” texted my good friend Anna

“Why, yes I do,” I replied

And 2 weeks later, flights booked at £356 lighter, I was a mere 2 months away from my travelling extravaganza. I really had an amazing time. Although it was difficult being there at times, what with the culture differences and shop owners desperate to squeeze every penny out of tourists – not to mention the rickshaw drivers! – I highly recommend travelling (especially to India) to anyone, whether in their gap year or in their summer holidays. I was able to learn so much about myself and had so much time to reassess certain aspects of my life and get really excited about going to university and getting back into the swing of things.

Taking a gap year is something which I would highly endorse to anyone considering it. I have had so much experience living in the real world this past year; having to earn my keep, saving and budgeting for my travelling, being ripped off by taxi wallahs and just getting on in this big bad world we live in. Now I’m just keen to get back to my books again! I also understand that my experiences this year have made me more attractive to employers and have really bulked up my CV, what with becoming a supervisor, going travelling, volunteering and now with my placement at Stafford Long!

A-level grades are expected to be even better this year with the proportion of A grades expected to beat last year’s total of 26.7%. Over the past few years universities have found it increasingly difficult to select the best students because of the numbers achieveing the top grade. Because of this, an A* grade is being introduced for students who achieve more than 90%.

Despite this, many sixth formers are going to be disappointed next Thursday as figures reveal that there will not be enough undergraduate places to accommodate the number of students achieving great grades. David Willetts, the Universities Minister, advises that more sixth-formers should consider re-sitting their exams or taking an apprenticeship as an alternative.

Campus Ali says: As much as young people should be encouraged to invest in higher education, too many are applying for classic university courses to avoid the competitive job market. Young people should consider apprenticeships otherwise much needed skills will be lost.

With all the current scaremongering from newspapers, it’s hard to see through the fog of graduate employment statistics. Is it really as bad as we’re told? Do we invest over £20k to end up working on the tills in Tesco or is it just as easy to get a job today as it was before the recession hit? The Higher Education Statistics Authority has recently published employment rates, following graduation, by each university across the UK and by each subject. Surprisingly, figures aren’t as frightening as some news reports would have us believe.

In terms of employment rates by subject, irrelevant of the university that the student has studied at, statistics are positive. The highest level of employment is seen for graduates who studied Medicine, Dentistry and Veterinary Science, with 99.3% of those securing a job after graduation. Students studying subjects allied to Medicine, Law and Languages also did very well with over 90% of those moving into employment after university. Strangely, those who studied IT or Computer Science were least likely to secure a job with 81% of those now in employment. Can we however argue that 81% is a dire employment rate?! Such figures hardly suggest that the majority of these graduates are destined to a life of unemployment and wasted potential.

The HESA also published figures on employment rates by university and again such figures shouldn’t make current students run for the hills. Over 88% of all students who studied at the top twenty universities in the UK managed to secure a job following graduation. Unsurprisingly, rates were highest for those graduating from Cambridge where 95% of students immediately entered into full time employment. What is surprising is that the total number of students securing a job was similar across higher ranked universities such as Oxford and Durham and other universities like Leeds, Southampton and Newcastle (between 90 and 92%). Maybe reports have been right in concluding that choice of university is less important than the overall grade you achieve.

Campus Ali says: It’s not doom and gloom for all graduates and a degree will always be worthwhile. Only a small proportion of graduates enter into graduate schemes, reflecting news report employment statistics. The majority secure entry level positions and work their way up, which is easier to do with a degree. This has been the way for many years previous, recession or no recession.

Yesterday evening saw 105 female students arrive at the very glamorous offices of Deutsche Bank wondering and eager to learn what a career in investment banking might be like – thanks to our Fresh Look event! With 9 of the world’s best investment banks attending it was an amazing opportunity for all the girls involved.

After months of planning, recruiting students and arranging representatives from the banks, it was great to see the evening come together! Everything ran to plan from the insightful overview of investment banking to the panel discussion where the girls could fire any question at the real women on the panel. The evening ended with a really enjoyable informal networking event (complete with wine and canapés, naturally!) where the students had the opportunity to speak with the reps from each of the banks and find out what their future careers within investment banking might be like.

All of the banks involved felt the evening was a massive success and all were pleased and impressed with the students that attended. Hopefully the banks will be meeting with some of them again soon.

After a glass of wine, a canapé or five it was time to head home, satisfied with all our hard work and the great success of the evening. Bring on Fresh Look 2011!!

As the celebrations of graduating are in full swing, many graduates fear the employment market ahead. A recent survey has revealed that the graduate job market is more competitive than ever with vacancies down by 7% and 69 graduates chasing each graduate job. Those lucky enough to secure a job are likely to have at least a 2:1 as three quarters of employers require these grades. It was found that degree classification is used more as a selection criterion than relevant work experience (34%), degree subject (33%) or going to a particular university (7%). Making matters worse are the graduates from 2009 also competing for this year’s graduate jobs.

With such a pressure to achieve a 2:1, students are becoming disheartened when choosing their degree subject and university. With university choice and degree subject becoming irrelevant to employers, students wish they had chosen to study less challenging degrees at average universities in order to secure a 2:1.

Campus Ali says: The graduate job market is currently a huge concern for students and recent graduates and puts added pressure on students to achieve at least a 2:1. Hopefully the coming years will bring better things for graduates, but 2010 remains, like last year, an employers market.

Hi, I’m Olivia and I am doing work experience with Stafford Long, having just finishing my GCSEs. I have recently chosen my A-Level subjects – Art, Psychology, Biology and Geography and am hoping to go to university in 2 years time; however I do not know what I wish to study.

After just relieving myself from the stress of GCSEs – it felt like it was all over until I went to a sixth form taster day at my school, where I only got intimidated by more work to be done in the following year and exams which are soon to come.

Being a teenager, I have yet to make decisions about what I want to do with my life. I have friends who have a life plan for themselves, and they know exactly what they want to do. However, I have not made decisions on what career I want to go into, and so I chose the subjects I enjoy for A-Levels, not thinking about what career options they give me and I am hoping I will discover what I want to be, sometime soon.

At my age we start to get pressurized for decisions we should be making for university and what to do to prepare ourselves, which is all rather intimidating to me, as I still feel young and naive to the big world of work.

Doing work experience with Stafford Long has made me realise what work life is like, and it has finally hit me that time will fly, and before I know it, I myself, could be working in a company similar to this one, in only a few years.