Bright and breezy summer days may prove ill-fated for students

Sonja Stockton, director of talent recruitment, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, said: “Amid the shaky economic forecasts and pessimistic media discussion it is easy to accept there are few opportunities around - but despondency is going to get you nowhere. If students are to maximise their appeal to potential employers they must be focused on long term career planning, and the long university holidays provide a perfect time to do this.”

“There are still jobs out there, especially in the regions. The midlands, south west and north east are hotspots for new graduate opportunities with the firm."

PwC’s graduate recruitment team advise students on how to use the summer holidays to get ahead with ten top tips:

• Build your own employability portfolio, matching your skills with concrete examples to employers and their needs.

• Get out there and network. Build a list of important contacts.

• Be proactive. Develop your employability skills at every opportunity. Transferable skills are very attractive to employers and they don’t necessarily have to be gained through work. Demonstrating the skills you gained through sport or volunteering have as much impact as those picked up on the job.

• Have clear long term goals. If you don’t know where you are heading to, how are you going to get there?

• Be clear about what your potential employer is looking for and work towards meeting those objectives.

• Get your foot in the door. This can be through internships, summer academies or unpaid work and will show your interest in a company.

• Get some work experience. Even if you do admin at the company of your dreams, you have made the first step and enhanced your CV.

• Research the job market. It will spur you on and also help you be realistic about what is achievable.

• Have confidence in your achievements and ability and the decisions you have made. If you don’t believe in yourself, how do you expect anyone else to?

• Be determined. Everyone faces rejection at some point so keep your long-term goals in mind.

As part of its online Employability Clinic, PwC provides an employability skills test for students to test themselves on what business critical skills they have developed to date and compare them to employer requirements. It has been used by over 50,000 students to date.

The online employability skills test can be accessed here.