Graduates entering one of the toughest jobs markets in recent times have been told that work experience placements and internship programmes are the best ways of getting their CV to the top of a prospective employer's pile this year.
A willingness to seek out unpaid work experience will help graduates stand out in the next 12 months, while internships will provide the skills and experience needed to make employers stand up and take notice of individual candidates, according to Tom Richmond, policy adviser on skills for the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).
"There may be long waiting lists and rejections, but you've got to keep plugging away, because experience is often the decisive factor that gets you the job," Richmond said.
"The skills you can get in an internship, things like teamwork and communication, you can't always get through a degree.
"Time in the workforce shows employers you can do it whereas, to put it crudely, a bit of paper doesn't."
According to a CIPD survey, 61% of employers see a lack of skills as the biggest obstacle to recruitment.
