Recently we surveyed 1,013 students and graduates like you to understand how you're feeling about the rise in living costs and how you feel this will impact your future careers. Here we share what you’ve told us.
The results showed us that nearly 9 out of 10 of you are concerned that your future careers will be impacted, with 1 in 4 considering food banks and needing to ask family to help with living costs.
77% of students and graduates agreed that the location you want to work in has been impacted, either due to the living costs being too high where you want to work, the commute being too expensive, being unable to move out of your parent’s house, or the jobs you are looking for don’t offer high enough salaries for the location.
We also found there was a change in desire of how you want to work, with 43% now looking for hybrid or remote working roles to balance the living costs.
Furthermore, you've told us that you are having to consider changing the sector that you want to work in, as 36% shared that there aren’t as many opportunities in your desired sector, and 45% have said that salaries were too low in the sector they want to work in.
Here at graduate-jobs.com, we understand that students and graduates are feeling the impact of the rise in living costs. You’ve told us you are looking to see how employers can support you in new graduate roles, via relocation bonuses, support for travel, support in finding accommodation and well-being. Here are what some leading employers are offering to help with the rising living costs:
- HSBC, John Lewis, Nationwide, and Virgin Media O2 are giving some workers extra payments to help with the rising cost of living.
- John Lewis and Waitrose are offering free food over the winter months to help people focus on paying their heating and electricity bills.
- Supermarkets, such as Tesco, Iceland, and Sainsburys, are increasing staff discounts to help decrease the cost of food shops.
When applying for jobs, be sure to check for the benefits the employer is offering and whether they are offering remote or hybrid opportunities which could alleviate costs of needing to travel. If a company is offering remote position, you can also ask in an interview if they offer any support for a work from home set up, such as sending a company laptop, expensing office furniture etc.
In addition, if a company states that the salary is competitive on the job description, don’t be afraid in the interview to enquire what the salary range they are offering is. Businesses are aware of the challenges people are facing, so don't be afraid to ask these questions.