Students expect to work more for less money and high achievers expect to make fewer job applications

Student’s salary expectations have dropped over the last four years but the number of hours they expect to work has risen, according to figures from the trendence Graduate Barometer UK edition.
 
The annual study of 15,000 UK students shows the average expected salary for a first job upon graduation has dropped from a peak of £24,900 in 2009 to £21,600. However, high potential students, defined as those within the top 20 percent of academic achievers expect a higher starting salary of £26,210.
 
When looking at working hours, in 2008, trendence figures show students expected to work 41 hours a week, a figure which has risen year on year to reach 48 hours in 2011.  
 
Other findings show students on average now expect to submit 27 applications as part of the job hunting process over the course of five months. This has shifted from 2010 where they expected to make more applications (31), but over a shorter time period (4.5 months).
 
On average however, high potential students expect to make up to only four applications, and over the course of just three months. Oxbridge students also plan a lower number of applications, with almost a quarter expecting to make 10 to 14.   
 
trendence UK Account Director Kathryn Callow said: “Today’s students are clearly willing to work hard both at the application stages and upon entering the world of work. They have also shifted their salary expectations in line with bigger changes in the market such as widespread pay freezes.
 
“What is interesting to note is the disparity between overall figures and those relating to high achieving students who are very aware of their status as top talent and that recruiters will fight to take them on. This is clearly reflected in the number of applications they expect to make which is significantly lower than other students’.”               
 
The annual trendence Graduate Barometer surveys 15,000 UK students at over 90 universities. The findings aim to provide graduate recruiters with a deep insight into student opinions on factors such as employer brand, career aspirations and preferred communication methods. The results also form part of the Guardian 300 listings.  
 
trendence, which launched in 2000, also allows recruiters to benchmark their brand performance explicitly against named competitors to measure impact on a campus by campus basis