Students secure 'bright futures' through social networking

10/12/2007 10:00:00

Bright Futures has just revealed statistics on which students are using its newly launched social networking community to interact with top employers.

The list of UK-based universities with Bright Futures societies now stands at 22 (as at 21 November 2007) with students studying business and finance courses (31.9%), engineering (15.3%), science (11.5%) and social science (9.1%), most likely to actively seek work through the society’s website. At the other end of the scale, politics, sport, and education students are among those least likely to turn to Bright Futures to help them make a breakthrough in their chosen careers, making up just over 2% of membership between them.

Geographically, the statistics show that London-based universities have been most eager to sign-up, with six Bright Futures societies in the region. The numbers are growing in other parts of the country too, with five in the Midlands and rising numbers in the remainder of the south. Students without societies have been signing-up as associate members, with the most proactive students starting their own society. Three out of six ‘red-brick’ universities now have a Bright Futures society, proving that despite traditions, they are realising the need for students to enhance employability through new methods.

With record exam results, and growing concerns over the worth of certain degree courses, it’s getting harder for graduates to distinguish themselves from other applicants, when applying for top positions. Technological advances have also had a massive impact on the graduate recruitment market, with students and recruiters alike rapidly adapting to new terms of engagement. From job auditions over YouTube, to Bright Futures’ profile pages, social networking is helping thousands of people to enter their chosen career, by enabling communication with decision makers at an earlier stage than ever before.

Bright Futures director, Simon Reichwald, comments: “Bright Futures embraces new technology and helps corporate members and students interact in a very individual way. Employers can showcase the benefits of working at their organisation to a unique talent pool of the country’s top students. This means recruiters can secure tomorrow’s talent today, and cut valuable time off the recruitment process.”

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