Gair Rhydd

Is your CV ready for the graduate market?

Some of you may not be looking into graduate schemes as of yet; you may be going travelling or going back into education. However, the vast majority will be looking to get a job. This may not be your dream job; chances are it is a job for the meantime, to pay off the overdraft, the student loan, or to save for travelling.

Ideally, you need to create a different CV for each type of job you apply for, unless, of course, you are looking for a similar role with each application you submit.

A paid gap yah?

Many of us dream of leaving the grey world of essays, exams and general life behind in favour of travelling the world. Can you think of anything better than exotic experiences in foreign lands? Waking up to endless sunshine? Actually experiencing a blue ocean instead of a brown one? Better yet, imagine getting paid to do this.

Jordan Selig, a Cardiff University Graduate, is so close to realizing this dream. After entering a contest with STA travel, ‘Jordi’ has battled against hundreds of other UK hopefuls to get into the final stages.

Recent graduates get behind the spin on graduate careers

A grad jobs site. Doesn’t sound like the world’s most original idea does it? Pitch that to the dragons and you’ll be out of there faster than you can say “I’m out.” Over on BBC One, Lord Sugar probably wouldn’t even bother to swear at you. Of the overcrowded markets around, this one looks pretty packed.

So why have a couple of recent graduates decided to waste months of their lives, and a chunk of their hard earned cash launching yet another graduate careers site? Having read, and binned their cheesy press release, asking them seemed the most obvious way to find out…

About to graduate? Think carefully about your future

Everyone wants to earn lots of money, but high-flying jobs are not necessarily for everyone. Jobs & Money offer some advice...

I really don’t want regrets. I am 22 years old, yet I find myself questioning my entire life; my prospects and expectations. I suppose coming from a state school background in a little town in South Wales, getting to University seemed to be all I could think of in those bleak few weeks surrounding A Level finals.

In the months running up to my degree finals last summer, all I could allow myself to think about, other than the law of Trusts of course, was securing my 2:1 and making sure I got myself into the best possible position for my future.

Living in London and loving it? Just don't become a Londonite

London. The city of the Queen, the Prime Minister, the 2012 Olympics and Amy Winehouse. Anyone who is anyone lives in London. All I ever hear from my friends is how they are going to take the long train journey up to city of dreams to start their new lives once University has spat them out in June.

There are two very strong opinions about our great capital. It is crowded, smoggy, obnoxious, rude and extortionate. Even those that live in London (or aspire to) acknowledge this. Yet they are still convinced of its superiority. So why is London the Mecca for ex-students?

Are voluntourists taking too many risks?

Volunteer holidays are the new graduate trend for 2010, but too many travellers are jetting off without making the necessary preparations

Almost every week I get sent loads of articles from different companies trying to sell their products or services; services that they feel are in the students’ best interests.

But I received one this week that may be very helpful, particularly following on from the gap year article that we featured last week.

Gap Years: Friend or Faux?

Gap years are great fun but they don't automatically make your CV look good. Jobs and Money tell you how to make the most of it

It is at this point in our academic lives when the pressure is on to apply for jobs for the following September, if you have not already done so. But there are other options. How about hopping off the factory line and taking a gap year?

A gap year could work for those of you who are unsure of what career path you want to pursue, or those of you who are afraid that you do not yet have the required experience to apply for those jobs. Some graduates simply want to travel, perhaps if they did not have a gap year before university, and some just need a break from it all.

Volunteering pays off

It may be unpaid work, but volunteering is worth it in the long run

Students, of all people, appreciate competition. We have already competed with hundreds of thousands for our university places, many of us have played sports or joined societies that have a competitive edge. Therefore by your second or third year, you are fully aware of how competitive the job market will be, even without the small complication of a global recession.

Each graduate placement involves fierce competition, further increased by graduate jobs being cut and more graduates being churned out, together with those graduates reaching higher grades. Law at Cardiff University, for example, requires three As at A Level. At graduation, you need an excuse for not acheiving a 2:1 or a first, alongside completing all the necessary work experience, such as solicitor’s placements, mini-pupillages and so on.

Get your priorities right

Before anyone can pursue a career and gain the subsequent experience, advice and know-how, they need to get their priorities straight.

It is at this point in our lives that we have to decide the course of our future. We need to make the right decisions. If we are to invest further into our development, apply for postgraduate study or graduate schemes, and convince those interviewing us that we are the right candidates for them, we need to know that we are.

Fifteen things you should know about graduate recruitment and careers

At a time when most of you are worrying about your graduate prospects, Jobs & Money brings you the ultimate guide to finding a job.

1. We are in a recession and graduate vacancies are down by 25% BUT 75% of graduate vacancies are still out there – a wide range of opportunities still exist, so go for them!