Either way, the jobs market is probably less secure than usual. What checks can you carry out in a company to ensure it's a good place to go in an economy where everything appears to be so fragile.
Well the honest thing to say is nowhere is 100% safe. When you have banks which have been around since before we were all born going to the wall who knows what is an what isn't secure. That said, there are some basic checks you can run.
Google any company offering graduate jobs. If they're ripe to buy, sell or restructure, you will likely get whispers of this in the news available on the internet. Also, visit the companies house website, for a very small sum you can access their filed accounts and this also may give you insight into any company that is struggling.
Try to get hold of existing employees. There are a number of ways of doing this, the obvious one being to just ring up and speak to anyone you can about the company. Another way would be to contact some customers and ask them if they have contact details for employees, pick their brains on what it's like and where they are going.
Try to get hold of someone who has been through the graduate jobs you are applying to before. This can be a little risky and individuals can have quite personal opinions which may not reflect the role that well. It only takes a bad relationship with a colleague for them to label it a bad company when really it may not be.
Ask if it is possible to go in and look around before interview, maybe shadow someone in the department to which you are applying.
On another note, things have changed. People are aware of market instabilities and consequently there is becoming less and less emphasis on CV stability. Employers are more aware that CV moves can be as much employers failures as anything else. So if you do take a role now that doesn't work out, it's not a complete disaster, in fact it will be valuable experience at no real cost.
Another consideration is further education. Post graduate qualifications may well give you an edge when later applying for graduate jobs depending upon the area. In addition, it may take you past the current financial crisis.
It's certainly a tough time to be looking at graduate jobs for the first time, but don't be put off, there are jobs out there. Do your homework to check out the prospective companies strength to ensure you don;t take something destined to end with a bump. Perhaps consider more education, it may give you an advantage when you return to the graduate jobs market.
