It feels like not a day goes by where students are not warned of the challenges of the current graduate labour market. It’s one of the reasons that, for many, graduation is such an intimidating prospect. But what exactly makes the graduate labour market so competitive, and is it really as bad as all that? I spoke with Careers Services director, Shelagh Green, to hear her perspective.
Green first confirmed it is completely normal to be apprehensive of the labour market, no matter what state it’s in – after all, it’s often the first time in our lives we have to forge our own path.
Regarding negative perceptions of the current graduate labour market, Green says: “The coverage […] is very bold and very big brushstrokes. […] There is not a single graduate labour market. There are regional variations, there are sector variations, and there are some areas which are booming and others which are more challenging.” Indeed, while some sectors, like investment banking, have seen an increase of over 30 per cent in recruiting, many others are in decline.
Recent trends in the labour market led to more competition, Green explains: “We had a real boom after the pandemic and that’s kind of stabilised a little bit. […] There has been a sense that the economy is quite volatile at the moment, which makes a lot of organisations a little bit reluctant to necessarily be recruiting in big numbers.” There are, indeed, fewer opportunities: total recruitment declined by five per cent in 2025 from the previous year.
An increase in AI usage also contributes to competition. Green explains how AI tools lead to an oversaturation of applications: “There’s not more people making applications. They’re all making more applications.” This leads to a “mismatch,” leaving employers dissatisfied with the quality of applications they receive, and applicants daunted by the competition they’re facing.
So, what is the Careers Service’s role in all this? The aim of the Service, Green tells me, is to help students “transition into successful futures. And for me, [those] successful futures [are] defined by them.”
In terms of providing this support, Green says: “It’s not about necessarily having the right answer or an answer but encouraging real curiosity and a degree of flexibility and openness to opportunities.” She mentions just how versatile our degrees are: “Degree subject isn’t the thing that gets somebody a job. Degrees don’t get jobs, people get jobs.”
Green tells me how the Service is adapting to the current labour market: “We’ve invested in […] digital resources” to help students “build a bit of knowledge about what opportunities are out there.” The Service also updated its services to adapt to growing trends in recruitment: it increased support on selection tests and introduced guidance on AI use in recruitment.
The conversation also highlighted the growing importance of networking; I’ve heard the phrase “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know,” more times than I can count. Networking can be daunting, however, particularly for students looking to break into industries where they have no connections. Green stresses that “[it’s] not about asking people to do you favours. It’s about using your curiosity to learn more.” Easier said than done. “There’s a reluctance to do that because either it feels unfair or uncomfortable,” Green continues. However, as she puts it, “shy bairns get nowt.”
When asked about how the Careers Service has been affected by the university’s budget cuts and financial management this past year, Green frames it as an opportunity. Though the Service has had to “manage [its] finances carefully,” they’ve had to “think creatively about how we work with Schools.” She says: “We’ve still been able to invest in technology and that’s a great way of making sure that we can be accessible 24/7 when there isn’t necessarily somebody on campus.”
This is not to say the Service has not faced its challenges. Student engagement, Green tells me, is something it is still trying to improve: “How do we ensure that all of our students, whether they’re post-grad researchers, an international [post-graduate-taught] student, a commuter student in second year, recognise that we are relevant to them and here for them and feel able to access the support that they need.”
Going forward, Green shares some of the Service’s goals, student engagement among them. She hopes the Service can become more visible on campus so students can “casually engage” with it. She also highlights the Service’s goals around Widening Participation opportunities: “I’d like to continue our focus on how we support students who may face additional barriers in accessing the labour market.”
Finally, Green states: “I genuinely think our students are really talented. I would like them to be moving forward confident that they will find their way.” The Careers Service is there to help them do that, and hopefully make the transition into the professional world a little smoother.
Image provided by Shelagh Green to The Student