While each employer will have unique requirements of graduates they hire, the following is a generic guide to what employers want.

Many of the bigger employers find it a labour saving way of screening out i.e. rejecting applicants without even looking at their CV or talking with graduate. Therefore it's vital to give yourself every chance of getting past this hurdle!

There are some signs of stabilisation in the job market. The decline in general job advertisements has slowed and indications are that by September we may finally some small growth in jobs compared to prior months. This remains consietent with our jobs forecast published at the start of 2009.

But what is the outlook for graduates?

The market for graduates is not good in the short-term. We judge there are around 30% fewere graduate programs available this year. Those graduate employers still recruiting have on average experienced a 50% increase in the number of applicants. So competition for candidates is tough!

The following is a recap of our jobs forecast